I think too many of the Chicago school thinkers, even today's self-proclaimed Smithians, read him as a mere apologist for commercial society. It's not that Smith didn't ultimately defend commercial society. He absolutely did. But to understand the nuances is thought, you really have to spend some time with it. I mean, he writes in English and it's modern English so it can sometimes have the appearance of being very familiar and easy.
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.”)