Adam Smith is the forgotten forebear of contemporary sociology. He is the explicit precursor of all modern economic theory, Karl Marx, and Talcott Parsons. He is also a precursor of modern symbolic interactionism.

Adam Smith's two renowned works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, address, respectfully, the two central issues of the classical social theory: (1) the ways of thinking and feeling the characterize the transition to capitalism and (2) the institutional forms of economy and polity that shape the organizational life of society. In a word, Adam Smith is more a sociologist than an economist. Capitalism is a new way of feeling and a way of interacting. As such, in analyzing capitalism, Smith is, on the one hand, a social psychologist of emotion and, on the other, a sociologist of political and economic organization. It has been said that all social science after Marx is in response to him. Adam Smith (along with Hegel) were the two major thinkers to which Marx responds. Recall that Marx viewed the transition from Feudalism as a major development in the course of human freedom. The problem with modern capitalism was not its entrepreneurial petty commodity production, but the necessary march of capitalism toward domination of the relations of production which result in labor exploitation and underproduction of wealth. But more about this soon.

Question:
The assignment has two parts: a more elaborate analytical one and a briefer evaluative one.
1. Describe how the central logics of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations intersect. That is, in what way do the social-psychological conditions and relations described by Smith in Moral Sentiments serve as the foundation for his understanding the post-Feudal institutional life of increased moral, political, and economic liberty that he charts in Wealth of Nations?
2. Conclude by indicating in what ways Smith’s ideas do or do not provide analytical directions for understanding contemporary society.

Assigned Reading
Heilbroner (Ed.), The Essential Adam Smith,The Man and His Times 1-11.
Theory of Moral Sentiments
-Editor's Introduction 57-63
-Part I Section I 65-77
-Part I Section II 77-78
-Part I Section III 78-88
-Part II Section I 88-91
-Part II Section II 91-98
-Part II Section III 98-100
-Part III 100-117
-Part V 118-123
-Part VI Section II 135-147
The Wealth of Nations
-Editor's Introduction 149-157
-Introduction and Plan 159-161
-Book I
-Chapters I,II,III,IV 161-175
-Chapters V,VI,VII 175-194
-Chapter VIII 194-198, 202-208
-Chapter X 210-214
-Book II
-Chapter III 234-243
-Book IV
-Chapter II 265
-Chapter VII 269-275
-Chapter IX 284-290
-Book V
-Chapter I 290-312

Recommended Reading
Louis Schneider (Ed. and Introduction). The Scottish Moralists On Human Nature and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1967.
Jerry Z. Muller. Adam Smith in His Time and Ours: Designing the Decent Society. New York: Free Press. 1993.