Download or read book Adam Smith in His Time and Ours written by Jerry Z. Muller and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1995-07-23 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Counter to the popular impression that Adam Smith was a champion of selfishness and greed, Jerry Muller shows that the Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations maintained that markets served to promote the well-being of the populace and that government must intervene to counteract the negative effects of the pursuit of self-interest. Smith's analysis went beyond economics to embrace a larger "civilizing project" designed to create a more decent society.