The Wealth of Nations
In Our Time: History
02/19/15
•46m
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Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Adam Smith's celebrated economic treatise The Wealth of Nations. Smith was one of Scotland's greatest thinkers, a moral philosopher and pioneer of economic theory whose 1776 masterpiece has come to define classical economics. Based on his careful consideration of the transformation wrought on the British economy by the Industrial Revolution, and how it contrasted with marketplaces elsewhere in the world, the book outlined a theory of wealth and how it is accumulated that has arguably had more influence on economic theory than any other.
With:
Richard Whatmore Professor of Modern History and Director of the Institute of Intellectual History at the University of St Andrews
Donald Winch Emeritus Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Sussex
Helen Paul Lecturer in Economics and Economic History at the University of Southampton
Producer: Thomas Morris.
Previous Episode
Ashoka the Great
February 5, 2015
•46m
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Indian Emperor Ashoka. Active in the 3rd century BC, Ashoka conquered almost all of the landmass covered by modern-day India, creating the largest empire South Asia had ever known. After his campaign of conquest he converted to Buddhism, and spread the religion throughout his domain. His edicts were inscribed on the sides of an extraordinary collection of stone pillars spread far and wide across his empire, many of which survive today. Our knowledge of ancient India and its chronology, and how this aligns with the history of Europe, is largely dependent on this important set of inscriptions, which were deciphered only in the nineteenth century.
With:
Jessica Frazier Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
Naomi Appleton Chancellor's Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh
Richard Gombrich Founder and Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and Emeritus Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford
Producer: Thomas Morris.
Next Episode
The Eunuch
February 26, 2015
•46m
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