Discuss this statement with reference to the specific intellectual and socio-economic contexts within which Smith was writing.

Instructions and Questions

You are to choose one of the following questions and write your response using the ‘required reading’ and other material that is indicated immediately below it. You are welcome to draw on any other sources that you feel may be relevant for that question. But the minimum criterion is to utilize this ‘required reading’, which, if used well, will be more than sufficient.

Question 2

Adam Smith’s analysis of the ‘market economy’ in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) contains many valuable insights, but it is also very much a product of its times.

Discuss this statement with reference to the specific intellectual and socio-economic contexts within which Smith was writing.

Required Reading (compulsory for this question )

Backhouse, R. (2002) The Penguin History of Economics. London: Penguin. – Chapter 6 ‘The Scottish Enlightenment of townload The Scottish Enlightenment of the Eighteenth Century, pp. 110-133.
Hunt, E.K. and Lautzenheiser, M. (2002) History of Economic Thought: A Critical Perspective. London: M.E. Sharpe – Chapter 3 ‘Adam Smith’, pp.40-64.

Please use the required reading and write the answer based on those sources stated.

Instructions for submission

You must state the word count at the top or bottom of the essay. The word limit is 2000 words plus or minus 10%, excluding your list of references/bibliography and any diagrams, figures, charts or tables.
You MUST use HARVARD STYLE of referencing in your essay and include a reference list at the end of your essay.