Adam Smith and the Other Revolution of 1776
Date and Time
August 31 - December 18, 2026
All day
Location
Houghton Library, History of Ideas Case, Harvard Yard
This exhibition features two items by the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith: his monumental two-volume Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) and a signed letter to his publisher, William Strahan, from that same year. Smith famously argued that economic prosperity is driven by open competition and that focusing on a single area of specialization makes workers’ labor more efficient and thus more profitable. His letter to Strahan suggests combining their resources to increase the profits from sales of the second edition of Wealth of Nations, thus enacting the book’s own principles.