The Godly Path to Adam Smith’s Liberal Plan

<p>There's been renewed interest in the role Christianity has played in liberalism since Larry Siedentop’s 2014 book,&nbsp;<em>Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism</em>. Building on Siedentop, Daniel Klein says universal benevolent monotheism, and Christianity in particular, has led to the articulation of a specific social grammar and corresponding rights—in short Adam Smith’s “liberal plan.” But can liberalism be sustained in a world that no longer takes its ethics from that monotheism?</p><br><p>Daniel Klein is professor of economics and JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where Erik Matson and he lead a program in Adam Smith. He is also associate fellow at the Ratio Institute (Stockholm), research fellow at the Independent Institute, and chief editor of&nbsp;<em>Econ Journal Watch</em>. He and Matson also lead CL Press and curate the Liberty Fund column called&nbsp;<em>Just Sentiments</em>.</p><br><p><a href="https://www.acton.org/...