She embodied the conservative reading of Adam Smith. Thatcher carried in her handbag a copy of The Wealth of Nations. She was determined to run the economy like he would run a shop. There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money.
Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. Prepare for a very Smithy tug of war. (Part 2 of “In Search of the Real Adam Smith.”)