Is Everyone Getting Adam Smith Wrong? - ft. Glory Liu

Most people associate Adam Smith with free markets and “the invisible hand”. But does this conventional narrative purposefully ignore Smith’s deep suspicions about monopolies and power? Georgetown assistant professor Glory Liu argues this narrow interpretation is actually a deliberate historical reconstruction. In her book, “Adam Smith’s America”, Liu reintroduces the famous philosopher as a theorist of power who worried deeply about organized wealth distorting society. She notes that Smith watched early merchants use their disproportionate resources to capture political influence and actively suppress workers. Hosts Luigi and Bethany debate whether early merchant wealth accumulation truly mirrors the massive capital concentration seen in today's corporate landscape. They also explore the argument that reintroducing moral foundations to economic theory might provide a better foundation for capitalism itself.

You can listen to Is Everyone Getting Adam Smith Wrong? - ft. Glory Liu online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Is Everyone Getting Adam Smith Wrong? - ft. Glory Liu is an episode from Capitalisn't by University of Chicago Podcast Network.

This episode is 00:31:03 long.

This episode was published on Mar 26, 2026.

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