The Theory of Moral Sentiments by {author}: summary and why it matters

What it argues

Smith argues that moral judgment arises from our capacity to imagine ourselves in another person's position. We approve of conduct when we can enter into the sentiments of the person acting, and we judge ourselves by picturing how an impartial spectator would see us. Conscience is that spectator internalized.

From this he builds a picture of virtues: prudence, justice and benevolence. Justice is the minimal rule that holds society together, the one whose violation deserves punishment; beneficence is a grace that cannot be forced. He also writes about vanity, the pursuit of wealth and rank, and the way admiration of the rich can corrupt moral sentiments.

Smith revised the book through six editions, the last in 1790, the year he died. It gives the fuller context for the invisible hand, a phrase that appears here as well as in the Wealth of Nations.

Why it matters

Readers who know Smith only as the prophet of self-interest are often surprised. The book shows an economist who thought markets depend on trust, fairness and moral habit, and that a commercial society needs virtues it cannot itself produce. It is a useful answer to caricatures from both left and right.

About the author

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish philosopher who held the chair of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow before taking a post as tutor and traveling in France. He later served as a customs commissioner in Edinburgh. The Theory of Moral Sentiments, written during his professorship, made his reputation, and he continued to revise it up to the year of his death.

Who should read it

Anyone who has read or plans to read The Wealth of Nations, and readers interested in the moral grounding of capitalism. The eighteenth-century prose is leisurely, but the early sections are lively.