Adam Smith is best known today as the founder of modern economics, but he was also an uncommonly brilliant philosopher who was especially interested in the perennial question of how to live a good life. Our Great Purpose is an illuminating guide to Smith’s incomparable wisdom on how to live well, written by one of today’s leading Smith scholars. Full of invaluable insights on topics ranging from happiness and moderation to love and friendship, Our Great Purpose enables modern readers to see Smith in an entirely new light—and along the way, learn what it truly means to possess an excellent character and lead a worthy life.
Ryan Patrick Hanley is professor of political science at Boston College. His books include Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue and Adam Smith: His Life, Thought, and Legacy (Princeton).
"A gem of a book, offering fresh insights into Smith's writings and drawing holistic connections that make his philosophy come alive."—Jonathan B. Wight, American Economist
"Smith deftly connected all human activity into a single, philosophical portrait, and Our Great Purpose makes a compelling case for us to study it closely."—David J. Davis, Wall Street Journal
"Ryan Patrick Hanley has provided a succinct, witty and informative work on the relevance of Adam Smith today. . . . An excellent primer on the true Smith."—Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday
"A brilliant and original way to encounter Adam Smith—a book that will still be read in fifty years."—David Warsh, author of Economic Principals: Masters and Mavericks of Modern Economics
"An Ariadne's thread to guide the reader through the multiple issues Smith introduces and explores. . . . This should be passed out to all beginning students of Economics."—Patrick Madigan, Heythrop Journal
