Reading Adam Smith through a Montesquieuian lens
Climate, population, and progress
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12902606 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J L Z Rauwald (University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 685-706 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Intellectual History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1749-6977 • E-ISSN: 1749-6985 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17496977.2025.2496104 |
| OpenAlex | W4410303122 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
The role of the environment in Adam Smith’s thought remains a neglected area of study. By reading Smith through a Montesquieuian lens, new light can be shed on previously overlooked themes. This paper examines how Smith thought climate impacted the development of nations and asks why he thought some nations were more developed than others. I argue that the environmental conditions of a territory principally decided its potential for Smith, while the realisation of this potential depended on cultural norms and policy. Smith is shown to be deeply interested in the interaction of environmental and non-environmental factors in his account of the development of different nations. Re-assessing the important role of climate in Smith’s thinking not only brings him closer to Montesquieu than might be expected, but it also helps us reflect on contemporary debates on unlimited growth
Adam smith · Economics · Lens (geology · Linguistics · Neoclassical economics · Optics · Physics · Population · Reading (process · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Demography · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Philosophy · Political Theory and Influence
Of national characters
Adam Smith and Economic Development in Theory and Practice
Adam Smith's Politics
The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, Vol. 5
Population as a GDP Proxy in Adam Smith
The Social Ecology of Adam Smith
Adam Smith Reconsidered
Moral Philosophy and Population Questions in Eighteenth Century Europe
An Introduction to Montesquieu's “An Essay on the Causes That May Affect Men's Minds and Characters
Smith, Turgot, and the "Four Stages" Theory
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |