Adam Smith and the Ethics of Contemporary Democratic Capitalism in New Zealand

The ideology of the New Right draws many of its foundational concepts from the work of Adam Smith. This appropriation and vulgarization of Smith′s work constitutes a major injustice to this seminally important theorist. In particular, the moral underpinnings of Smith′s project are often ignored, as are his insights on the potential dysfunctions and pathologies a capitalist society might foster. Most critiques of capitalism are launched from a Marxian‐based perspective. Finds, however, that by examining post‐Rogernomics New Zealand in light of the potential dysfunctions identified by Smith, the father of capitalism himself proves to be the most trenchant critic of the current order.