Economics as a Moral Science: The Political Economy of Adam Smith.

• Author: Bethune, John J.

By Jeffrey T. Young.

Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 1997. Pp. x, 225. $80.00.

At their annual meetings over the past 10 years, the History of Economics Society has seldom scheduled a session on Adam Smith that did not include Jeffery Young. His presentations have often led to articles, appearing in such journals as History of Political Economy and Journal of the History of Economic Thought. It should come as no surprise, then, that Professor Young has now produced a book with Smith as its subject matter. And, though the subtitle of the text indicates that Smithian economics is the subject, the title's theme of economics as a moral science certainly holds a place in contemporary discussions regarding the purpose, or limits, of the discipline.

Young begins by acknowledging that significant parts of the book are reproduced from previously published articles and unpublished manuscripts, which might lead the reader to conclude that the work could be disjointed. But Young maintains that it "is intended to be read from start to finish" and that his goal is "to offer a coherent interpretation of Smith based on the interplay of economics and moral philosophy" (p. ix). To assist in creating this smooth and even flow from chapter to chapter, Young provides introductory and concluding comments that state how each chapter is meant to relate to the previous or following ones.

The book is divided into two general sections. The first focuses on positive economics with reference to Smith's impartial spectator, jurisprudence, and theory of natural price. The second section considers the normative aspects of Smith's views on natural liberty, justice, and the common good. Both of these sections would have benefited from an introduction, conveying what the author intended to accomplish in each. Similarly, except for some very brief comments in the introductory acknowledgments, the book lacks a stated organizational plan or goal for writing the book. Although the conclusion does a good job of focusing Young's work, placing an outline at the front of the book to convey where the author intends to go would benefit the reader and perhaps tempt an uncommitted browser to go further. A brief introductory plan is oddly located at the end of the first chapter, which, as noted, would be more useful if it were located prior to the first main section of the text.

In the first chapter, Young offers a moral dilemma from 30 years past (whether to move the 1968...