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Boston College: Adam Smith and Modern Capitalism
April 14, 2023 @ 4:00 pm - April 15, 2023 @ 5:00 pm
April 14-15, 2023, the John Marshall Project at Boston College, a JMC partner program, will host thirteen renowned experts, including JMC fellow Dennis Rasmussen, for a two-day conference on Adam Smith and Capitalism.
Our modern world has been decisively shaped by capitalism – on this, all agree. But has it been shaped by capitalism for the worse or for the better? Here we find less agreement. While some argue that capitalism has promoted the progress of society and the alleviation of poverty, others argue that capitalism has corrupted us by eviscerating our communities and exacerbating inequality.
How ought we then understand capitalism’s present state and possible future? For guidance, our conference proposes to go back to the past and revisit the social vision of Adam Smith, the thinker who more than any other thinker in our tradition is credited as the founding father of modern capitalism.
Thursday, April 14-15, 2023 • 4:00 PM ET
Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th floor • Boston College
Dennis Rasmussen is a Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, as well as co-director of SU’s Political Philosophy Program and a Senior Research Associate at the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. His research focuses on the Enlightenment, the American founding, and the virtues and shortcomings of liberal democracy and market capitalism.
He received his PhD from Duke University in 2005 and his BA from Michigan State University’s James Madison College in 2000. Before coming to Syracuse, he held positions at Tufts University, the University of Houston, Brown University, and Bowdoin College.
He is the author of five books.
Professor Rasmussen is a JMC fellow.
Learn more about Dennis Rasmussen >>
The John Marshall Project (JMP) of the Department of Political Science at Boston College promotes a focused study of the citizenship and statesmanship needed by a democratic and constitutional republic. The mission of the Project absorbs and expands upon the Program for the Western Heritage, directed by Robert Faulkner and Susan Shell and housed within the Department of Political Science. The Marshall Project also cooperates directly with the Marshall Program in Political Philosophy and Civic Leadership, currently directed by Robert Faulkner under the auspices of the Clough Center.
The activities of the Project include lectures and other appearances on campus by notable public figures and other political and intellectual leaders, the awarding and supervision of two Marshall Doctoral Fellowships and one Marshall Post-Doctoral Fellowship, and selection of ten to twenty undergraduate Marshall Fellows, with the future possibility of a certificate program in civic leadership. The undergraduate fellows participate in reading groups, lectures, and summer study and research, as well as special conferences where pertinent.
The JMP operates with generous financial support from the Jack Miller Center and the Thomas W. Smith Foundation.
Learn more about the John Marshall Project >>
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