This volume is published in conjunction with a new edition of all the works of Adam Smith, commissioned by the University of Glasgow to celebrate the bicentenary of The Wealth of Nations. As a part of the celebrations, it was also felt appropriate to publish a series of essays by contemporary students of Smith which would cover the main areas of his work, as distinct from simply concentrating on the economics. To this end, the first part is mainly concerned with the broadly philosophical and political aspects of Smith's contribution, the second, with the subject matter (by no means entirely economic) of The Wealth of Nations itself.