Abstract
This entry discusses Adam Smith’s theory of justice and its application to the law. Smith’s theory of justice combines natural and acquired rights with a focus on commutative justice and economic reasoning. Core concepts are resentments, sympathy, the impartial spectator, and liberty. A possible conflict between liberty and economic expedience is illustrated by Smith’s discussion of usury and bank regulation.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Heinz Kurz, Barbara Klose-Ullmann, Martin Leroch and Rigmar Osterkamp for their helpful comments.
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Holler, M.J. (2019). Smith, Adam. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_47
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