Invisible Hand Seminar
Established 2011, the Invisible Hand Seminar advances liberal discourse in the spirit of Adam Smith. The seminar meets five Saturdays a semester, 4:00-5:45 PM, Buchanan Hall D180. Past seminars have featured senior scholars and graduate students working in economics, philosophy, sociology, history, political theory, and law. Many of the seminar meetings have been kindly supported by The Institute for Humane Studies.
If you would like to attend a seminar, please write to Erik Matson at ematson@mercatus.gmu.edu.
Schedule for Spring 2023
- Saturday February 4: Evan Osborne (Wright State University): The Odyssey of Economic Liberalism in China since 1842. (Reading, “Classical Liberalism in China: Some History and Prospects”
- Saturday February 18: David Rose (University of Missouri-St. Louis): Unpacking Adam Smith: A Foundational Look at Economics (Readings: David Rose, “The Evolution of Economic Society”; Adam Smith’s pin-factory example)
- Saturday March 4: Michael Watson (Belmont Abbey College), Mark Hanssen (Belmont Abbey College), Grattan Brown (Bishop Ireton High School): Catholic Social Thought and Mainline Economics
- Saturday April 1: Rachel Ferguson (Concordia University-Chicago): Black Liberation Through the Marketplace: Lessons in Classical Liberalism (Reading: AIER article)
- Saturday April 22: Stephanie Slade (Reason): Frank Meyer's Fusionism and What It Isn't (Readings: Meyer 1962, Bozell 1962)