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Dugald Stewart who wrote a short sketch [1793] of Adam Smith’s life and work had
interesting things to say about both the points in Tony Brewer's post. He maintained that
Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations [WN] to ascertain the general principles of ‘justice and
expediency’. Smith was interested in laying out modern policy of states which was to be
opposite of ancient states of both Greece and Rome. Dugald wrote:
 
“One principle cause of this difference between the spirit of the ancient and  
modern policy, may be found in the difference between the sources of national  
wealth in ancient and modern times. In ages when commerce and manufacture were  
yet in their infancy, and among states constituted like most of the ancient  
republics, a sudden influx of riches from abroad was justly dreaded as an  
evil, alarming to the morals, to the industry, and to the freedom of a people.  
So different, however is the case at present, that the most wealthy nations  
are those where the people are the most laborious, and where they enjoy the  
greatest degree of liberty”. 
 
Dugald says that Smith believed that the general diffusion of wealth among the ‘lower
orders of men’ gave birth to the spirit of independence in these societies.
 
Even more interestingly, Dugald felt that Smith’s moral philosophy had a connection to his
‘inquiry’ into the wealth of nations. He claimed to "illustrate a connection between his
[Smith’s] system of commercial politics and those speculations of his earlier years, in
which he aimed more professedly at the advancement of human improvement and happiness. It
is this view of political economy that alone can render it interesting to the moralist,
and can dignify the calculations of profits and loss in the eye of the philosopher”.
 
Sumitra Shah 
 
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