Adam Smith: Economist of the American Revolution

Join us for lunch at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney on Thursday 24 September to hear from Joseph Healy, author of What Would Adam Smith Make of Modern Australia?, and historian David Hart, moderated by CIS founder Greg Lindsay.

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Centre for Independent Studies, though importantly, 250 years ago, several other occurrences took place that still inform our world today. 1776 saw the publication of Adam Smith's foundational work of modern economics, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, alongside another text that reflected the ferment of ideas of the time: the US Declaration of Independence.

While Thomas Jefferson and the other framers of the Declaration can't have read the Wealth of Nations, as it was published the same year, the intellectual swirl of the era, much of it drawn from what became known as the Scottish Enlightenment, brought economics into politics and helped establish, in the US, perhaps the first commercial republic.

In this lunchtime discussion, we'll hear two presentations that tie these ideas and times together, considering what we might learn as we navigate the economics and politics of our own era, 250 years on. Joseph will speak on How Adam Smith Can Help Us Get Back to Our Core Beliefs and David will present 1776 and All That: On the Causes of the Wealth and Liberty of Nations, Reflections on Adam Smith and Thomas Jefferson Some 250 Years On.

Joseph Healy had a long career in international banking, co-founding and leading Judo Bank from 2016 to 2024. He is currently co-founder and CEO of Malu Health Group, building a world-class mental health care business. He holds six advanced degrees, spanning financial economics to contemporary Chinese studies and the psychology and neuroscience of mental health, and has authored five books, including What Would Adam Smith Make of Modern Australia?

David Hart holds degrees in history from Macquarie and Stanford Universities and King's College, Cambridge. He taught at the University of Adelaide for 15 years and spent 20 years as founding director of Liberty Fund's Online Library of Liberty. He is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow with the UWA Business School, and is an independent scholar based on Pittwater, Sydney.

Greg Lindsay AO is a Senior Fellow and Founder of The Centre for Independent Studies, which he established in 1976 after training as a maths teacher. Under his leadership, CIS has become one of Australia's most influential policy organisations, and he is a former President of the Mont Pelerin Society.