Adam Smith, natural extraction and historical judgement: An unwarranted environmental legacy

Abstract

Within the field of environmental history, assumptions about the development of political and economic ideas have tended to overlook the complex intellectual and historical context that gave rise to them. This article argues that this has certainly been the case in interpretations of Adam Smith by environmental historians. Through drawing on scholarship in intellectual history, this short essay reveals how Smith’s evaluation of natural extraction was directly linked to his conception of political economy. In the process, it also demonstrates a need for environmental historians to reassess Smith’s environmental legacy.