Introduction to the Volume

Abstract

Discussions on the philosophy of law have seldom included one of the most important figures of the modern age. A figure made ever more relevant by recent work in critical legal theory and in law and economics. Both critical theorists and legal economists have linked economics, in one way or another, to law, legal institutions, and dominant legal theory. Casting an imposing shadow over all such debates, although seldom adequately addressed, is the work of Adam Smith. Smith was among the grand philosophers of his time and yet today he is seldom studied outside of circles composed of those interested in the history of economic thought. Modern textbooks on economics give short mention to Smith other than to note his place in the developmental history of that science. Philosophers have done little better in the attention they have given to Smith’s work. Likewise, lawyers, even those interested in legal theory, spend little time reading or thinking about Smith’s contributions to the philosophy of law. All of this lack of attention, however, has never seemed to stop countless such people from cavalierly citing Smith as their patron Saint. There is no shortage of opinion regarding the pros and cons of Smith’s legacy as it is embodied in the ideology of western capitalist economies. It seems therefore that while many are willing to speak directly or indirectly regarding Smith on any matter at hand, or to claim or disown his intellectual inheritance depending on the particular situation, it is seldom a scholarly as opposed to popular inquiry that ensues.