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Adam Smith and the Philosophy of Law and Economics is a unique book. Malloy and Evensky bring together a team of international and interdisciplinary scholars to address the work of Adam Smith as it relates to law and economics. In addition to their own contributions, the book includes works by Dr. John W. Cairns of the University of Edinburgh, Dr. J. Ralph Lindgren of Lehigh University, Professor Kenneth A.B. Mackinnon of the University of Waikato, and the Honorable Richard A. Posner of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Together these authors bring expertise from the areas of law, philosophy, history, economics, and law and economics to a new study of Adam Smith and his work.
Part One of the book presents new and important observations on Smith's views on community, ethics, the court system, criminal law, and delictual or tort law liability. In this part of the book Smith's work is also examined from the perspective of his use as persuasive authority in the works of modern legal economists. In Part Two the `living Smith' is explored by way of a debate between two major contributors in the field of law and economics. The debate and its analysis create a unique and contemporary opportunity to study Smith as a foundational source in the midst of a current academic and social policy dispute.
The understanding of Adam Smith that emerges from this book is new and complex. It will challenge the one-dimensional portrayals of Smith as a promoter of self-interest and it will correct many of the misinterpretations of Smith that are currently fashionable in the worlds of law and economics and the philosophy of law.
List of contents
Preface. Introduction to the Volume; R.P. Malloy. Setting the Scene: Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy; J. Evensky. Adam Smith and the Role of the Courts in Securing Justice and Liberty; J.W. Cairns. Adam Smith's Treatment of Criminal Law; J.R. Lindgren. Adam Smith on Delictual Liability; K.A.B. Mackinnon. Adam Smith and the Modern Discourse of Law and Economics; R.P. Malloy. Introduction to Part Two; R.P. Malloy. Is Law and Economics Moral? Humanistic Economics and a Classical Liberal Critique of Posner's Economic Analysis; R.P. Malloy. Law and Economics is Moral; R.A. Posner. The Limits of Science in Legal Discourse -- a Reply to Posner; R.P. Malloy. Rebuttal to Malloy; R.A. Posner. Professor Malloy, Judge Posner, and Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy; J. Evensky. The Role of Law in Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy: Natural Jurisprudence and Utility; J. Evensky. Index.
