Category Archives: Uncategorized
*Someone is defying the Supreme Court, but it isn’t Trump*
That is the title of this provocative op-ed by Harvard law professor Adrian Vermeule. Below is an excerpt: The issue of defying court orders is still with us — but it has taken a twist. Now the defiance is coming … Continue reading
Wicked Wendi, you’re next
A jury in Tallahassee, Florida, has found Donna Adelson, the Miami Beach mother of unindicted co-conspirator Wendi Adelson, guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in the murder-for-hire of FSU law professor Dan Markel.
Adam Smith epilogue
Below is the epilogue to my forthcoming survey of open Adam Smith problems with Salim Rashid (footnotes are below the fold): “We conclude our work with, perhaps, the most difficult and contested open questions of all: who was Adam Smith, … Continue reading
Adam Smith’s Syllabus?
The penultimate part of my forthcoming survey of open Adam Smith problems with Salim Rashid (Chapter 12) contains a grab bag of additional sundry questions and miscellaneous Smith mysteries, all of which are deserving of further scrutiny. Below is an … Continue reading
Adam Smith counterfactual
A counterfactual is a statement about what would have happened if a past event had been different. It’s a “what if?” scenario, considering an alternative reality where something that actually occurred did not, or vice versa. On this note, below … Continue reading
Monday imaginary map: the United States of North America
What if Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. were one country? It would be the world’s largest by land area, creating a powerful economic and military bloc with a combined population of nearly 500 million people!
Sunday song: My wish
I will resume my series on “Adam Smith Problems” after the Labour Day holiday; in the meantime, here is some music that was first released in August of 2006 (more details here).
Sex and the City of Light: Das Liebesproblem
Two literary artifacts, both dating from the last two months of Adam Smith’s Grand Tour (September-October, 1766), merit a closer look. One is a private letter penned by Madame Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni sometime during the month of October, 1766. The other … Continue reading
Adam Smith and *Das Voltaire-Problem*
Correction (8/30): Our colleague and friend Alain Alcouffe has pointed out to us a possible error about the identity of “Dr Smith” in the Voltaire passage quoted below. In brief, the Dr Smith Voltaire is referring may not be Adam … Continue reading
The last days of Adam Smith in Paris
Adam Smith’s last days in Paris were marked by a terrible tragedy: the death of one of the pupils under his care, Hew Campbell Scott (pictured below), who was only 19 years old at the time. Below is an excerpt … Continue reading

