Democracy, Equality and Justice

"Challenging common interpretations of the political thought of John Adams and Adam Smith, Democracy, Equality, and Justice offers an engaging and novel portrait of the political economy in America at its founding. The founders believed that liberty should not trump community, but should exist within the context of community. Drawing on extensive written records of the thoughts of John Adams and Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism, John E. Hill argues that these two great men advocated a balanced, values-based, and just political economy. Applying their values of universalism and moderation today would significantly broaden the definition of morality in contemporary politics. Democracy, Equality, and Justice is a text that will encourage debate over the relationship between historical ideas and contemporary economic problems."--Jacket.