In this text, 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 Honourable 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 study of Adam Smith and his work. Part 1 presents 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 2, 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 creates a 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 complex. It challenges the one-dimensional portrayals of Smith as a promoter of self-interest and corrects many of the misinterpretations of Smith that are currently fashionable in the worlds of law and economics and the philosophy of law.