Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Neoliberalism claims Adam Smith as its founding father, but that claim is built on a lie. Smith's first great work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), placed empathy and sympathy for others at the very heart of economic life. That foundation was deliberately discarded by the Chicago School in the 1970s, who weaponised a single phrase, the "invisible hand," which was hardly used across his entire body of work, to justify a radical ideology of selfish individualism that Smith himself would have rejected. The result is an economic model that treats fear, insecurity, and social division as acceptable costs of doing business.
But Smith understood something today's neoliberal economists refuse to accept: our well-being is interconnected. When others suffer, we all suffer. Addressing economic insecurity isn't charity; it's an economic necessity.
This video makes the case for a return to Smith's original insight: that care, empathy, and collective well-being must be the foundations of political economy, and not the pursuit of personal wealth at any cost. If we want an economy that works for everyone, we need to reclaim Adam Smith from those who misrepresented him.
Check out our poll below: youtube.com/post/UgkxgFcJkgzlg1nsxb2-oauhjebA_PDkANZy
00:00 — Economics and the dominance of negative narratives
00:50 — Neoliberalism and the cult of individualism
01:40 — Adam Smith before neoliberalism
02:20 — The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the moral foundation of economics
03:10 — Sympathy, empathy, and human interdependence
04:00 — Misinterpretation: the Chicago School of Economics
04:50 — Fear, conflict, and shared human experience
05:40 — Why insecurity and division reduce well-being
06:20 — The myth of the isolated individual
07:00 — A new economics: care, empathy, and collective well-being
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
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INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#AdamSmith #EconomicsExplained #PoliticalEconomy #Neoliberalism #Empathy #CareEconomy #EconomicReform #SocialJustice #WellbeingEconomy #ModernEconomics #EconomicIdeas #RethinkEconomics #EconomicDebate #HumanNature #CollectiveWellbeing #EconomicTheory #ChicagoSchool #MoralEconomics #EconomicCrisis #Inequality #SocialCohesion #EconomicPhilosophy #PublicPolicy #EconomicChange #HopeEconomy #FutureOfEconomics #Compassion #EconomicThinking #Ethics #NewEconomics
Neoliberalism claims Adam Smith as its founding father, but that claim is built on a lie. Smith's first great work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), placed empathy and sympathy for others at the very heart of economic life. That foundation was deliberately discarded by the Chicago School in the 1970s, who weaponised a single phrase, the "invisible hand," which was hardly used across his entire body of work, to justify a radical ideology of selfish individualism that Smith himself would have rejected. The result is an economic model that treats fear, insecurity, and social division as acceptable costs of doing business.
But Smith understood something today's neoliberal economists refuse to accept: our well-being is interconnected. When others suffer, we all suffer. Addressing economic insecurity isn't charity; it's an economic necessity.
This video makes the case for a return to Smith's original insight: that care, empathy, and collective well-being must be the foundations of political economy, and not the pursuit of personal wealth at any cost. If we want an economy that works for everyone, we need to reclaim Adam Smith from those who misrepresented him.
Check out our poll below: youtube.com/post/UgkxgFcJkgzlg1nsxb2-oauhjebA_PDkANZy
00:00 — Economics and the dominance of negative narratives
00:50 — Neoliberalism and the cult of individualism
01:40 — Adam Smith before neoliberalism
02:20 — The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the moral foundation of economics
03:10 — Sympathy, empathy, and human interdependence
04:00 — Misinterpretation: the Chicago School of Economics
04:50 — Fear, conflict, and shared human experience
05:40 — Why insecurity and division reduce well-being
06:20 — The myth of the isolated individual
07:00 — A new economics: care, empathy, and collective well-being
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
Subscribe and get notified of new videos released.
INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#AdamSmith #EconomicsExplained #PoliticalEconomy #Neoliberalism #Empathy #CareEconomy #EconomicReform #SocialJustice #WellbeingEconomy #ModernEconomics #EconomicIdeas #RethinkEconomics #EconomicDebate #HumanNature #CollectiveWellbeing #EconomicTheory #ChicagoSchool #MoralEconomics #EconomicCrisis #Inequality #SocialCohesion #EconomicPhilosophy #PublicPolicy #EconomicChange #HopeEconomy #FutureOfEconomics #Compassion #EconomicThinking #Ethics #NewEconomics
