An Interview With Adam Smith No, not that Adam Smith.

On the occasion of his 300th birthday, Adam Smith—the Scottish Enlightenment luminary and so-called father of capitalism— was not available for comment, despite attempts to contact him via Ouija board and seance.

- By Katherine Mangu-Ward

Smith was undeniably one of a kind, a pathbreaking thinker in his own time and a philosopher whose insights in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations still apply in ours.

But he is not the only Adam Smith. For this special anniversary issue of Reason, we spoke with another, less-deceased economist named Adam C. Smith, this one a professor at Johnson & Wales University who was reachable via Zoom.

Bearing the name of Adam Smith has had a profound impact on his life, he says. The name has its perks, says Smith. He’s used it to his advantage professionally, striking up conversations with a wide array of economists from Paul Krugman to Vernon Smith (no relation).

In March, he spoke with Reason Editor in Chief Katherine Mangu-Ward on his namesake’s uncancellable legacy, the influence the man he calls the “original Smith” has had on his work, and all the bad jokes he’s been forced to endure through the years.

Reason: Adam Smith, tell me the story of your name.

Smith: My grandfather Bruce Yandle is an economist. He is a retired professor and former dean of the college of business at Clemson University. And he was working in Washington in 1982 when I was born. My mother, originally Kathryn Yandle, married a Smith—Leo Smith—and thought it would be cute and clever to name their firstborn child Adam in honor of him.