The Value of Enlightenment the Debate Over Adam Smith's Economic Legacy has Obscured His Essential Humanity, James Buchan Tells Anne Simpson
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JAMES BUCHAN INTERVIEW On the day we meet, James Buchan arrives from a stint of research for his latest book, a history of modern Iran. If any writer has set a gold standard for multitasking it is Buchan, who can add to his historian credentials the roles of novelist, journalist, critic and farmer. He also has a knack of reaching back into the past for subjects which, by piercing coincidence, become the preoccupation of our times. As we talk, the political temperature in Iran is spiking dangerously. Closer to home, and three years after its publication, Buchan's acclaimed study, Adam Smith and the Pursuit of Perfect Liberty, is once again being quoted as we thrash about, seeking solutions to our calamitous arrears.See the full content of this document
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The Value of Enlightenment the Debate Over Adam Smith's Economic Legacy has Obscured His Essential Humanity, James Buchan Tells Anne Simpson
Shortly before our conversation, Bernie Madoff, America's high- rolling swindler, had been jailed for 150 years, a sentence of such absurd magnitude it could be a plot line from grand opera. "That seemed to be harsh punishment for a 71-year-old, and one who pleaded guilty too, " says Buchan. "But it's a demonstrative sentence. He might, if he's lucky, serve 10 years and, like Al Capone, be allowe...
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