ABSTRACT
Students of Adam Smith’s views on virtue typically look to The Theory of Moral Sentiments. But in fact, the Wealth of Nations contains a strikingly robust theory of the relationship between virtues and institutions, one centered on the question of how the incentive systems created by various institutional structures encourage or impede the moral development of both individuals and societies. This essay documents this underappreciated approach and aims to demonstrate its ubiquity in the Wealth of Nations across multiple institutional contexts.
Ryan Patrick Hanley, Human Flourishing and the Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith on Character Development and Institutional Design, Social Philosophy and Policy, volume 43, special issue 1: Human Capital and Human Flourishing, pp 78-98 (Summer 2026). Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2026.
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