"'A moral being is an accountable being': Adam Smith and the Ethical Foundations of Accountable Governance,". Prepared for delivery at 2010 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, April 22-25, 2010, Chicago IL.
Abstract: In this paper I argue that among the "lost legacies" of Adam Smith's work was a perspective on human morality that warrants his consideration as the first modern theorist of accountable governance. I elaborate on my rationale for that claim after reviewing the particular writings in Smith’s principal work (in this case TMS rather than WN) which I believe establish his foundational role in such a theory and discussing the factors behind its “lost” status.
