Adam Smith's Theory of Value and Distribution Economics as a Moral Science Once Again

Jeffrey Young covers the complex and real problems of property, labour theory of value and distribution in Book I of Wealth of Nations, always bearing in mind that Smith´s economics is a moral science. As the author had already argued, 'unlike old soldiers, old Adam Smith problems neither die nor fade away' (Young, 1997, p. 203). This book about the classic old problems is a healthy reminder that Smith´s challenges are still relevant. It is a great present for Adam Smith´s 300^th birthday.

Leonidas Montes, Centro de Estudios Públicos and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile

The doyen of Smith studies, Jeffrey Young, returns to Smith's key concepts with fresh eyes to illuminate the key building blocks of Smith's moral science. As Young notes this approach, which treats human agents as social/moral persons, is being revived as Humanomics by Vernon Smith and Bart Wilson (themselves inspired by Adam Smith.)
In this very readible monograph, Young dispells a lot of misconceptions about the core of Smith economic analysis by using the toolkit modern economics and, thereby, making Smith simultaneously familiar and fresh again.

Eric Schliesser, Professor, Political Theory, Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam,

Jeff Young devoted a career to clarifying the political economy and social philosophy of Adam Smith with great skill and insight. This work represents a fundamental contribution to Smith scholarship and the field of history of economic analysis in general. It is required reading for all in the field.

Peter Boettke, University Professor of Economics & Philosophy, George Mason University

Young has settled definitively that Smith, unlike his self-described follower Marx, did not have a labor theory of value---that source of endless scientific and ethical error. The book overturns a leading myth among many about the Blessed Smith, that he was an advocate for selfishness, for example, or that he was a conservative, or a materialist, or a statist, or simply muddled.

Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, author of Why Liberalism Works.