David Lang

Adam Smith’s Economic System Could Create Wealth—and Concentrate Power

Historian and political theorist Glory Liu argues that Adam Smith’s account of economic cooperation is not a simple defense of self-interest: it also asks how societies can benefit from rising productivity without letting wealth concentrate into private power. In a discussion with composer David Lang, Liu places that question in the context of Smith’s critique of mercantile privilege, company rule and slavery, and argues that economic life is about who sets the terms of exchange and who gets to participate—not just how wealth is produced.