"Casting Smith as a Moral Theorist Who Was Also, Ultimately, a Defender of Commercial Society Misunderstands Him as a Thinker"

"Can Smith still speak to us if he ends up offering a vision of political realism that does not commend one set of actions over another? For Sagar, he can, though only faintly and from a distance. Sagar's Adam Smith does not loudly proclaim the virtues or vices of the market, but he does beg us to consider what kind of commercial society we live in. Does the rule of law guarantee our basic security of life and possessions from the violent domination of private actors, either individuals or groups? What happens when wealth and power align in the lawmaking process? What kind of politics do we want in a commercial society?"

Glory Liu at The Nation reviews Paul Sagar's Adam Smith Reconsidered: History, Liberty, and the Foundations of Modern Politics.