This study of Adam Smith and his work presents observations on Smith's views on community, ethics, the court system, criminal law, and delictual or tort law liability, and explores the "living Smith" 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.

Part 1: 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. Part 2: 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.