There's a raging debate in Smith's scholarship about where he would fit on today's political spectrum. It does seem that the political right and the economic right and conservatives have done a better job using Smith to advance their arguments, says John Avlon. Avlon: There's a lot in his writing that I would think they would want to use. He shows this very deep and palpable concern for the lot of the poor.
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.”)