Adam Smith on markets and their potential to benefit the poorest in society

Revisiting Adam Smith can be a useful way to resurface key aspects of how markets work that are underemphasized in current scholarship. This is especially fruitful when Smith’s claims have strong support within the political economy literature. This article focuses on Smith’s various arguments about the impact of markets on the least advantaged, and whether there is support for his claims in the contemporary literature. Despite advances in the last several decades, and indeed since the Industrial Revolution, poverty remains a worrisome problem. Additionally, inequality between countries and inequality within countries remain social challenges. Adam Smith, especially in The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments, has highlighted the potential of markets to improve the material conditions of the poorest in society.

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