If Adam Smith Were Still Alive

Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and political economist who published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776. He is often viewed as the father of economics as a coherent discipline. His novel, The Wealth of Nations, is often times viewed as a right-wing manifesto. However, he laid the basic stepping stones of current day economics with great precision. Many of his ideas are still in use today throughout not only the United States economy, but internationally as well. Smith was a very intelligent man who would, if still alive today, bring a very wide spectrum of knowledge to Westminster College. Although it difficult to choose any particular academic discipline Smith would teach, I think that it is quite obvious that the most reasonable field would be Economics.

3 Courses Adam Smith would teach:
The first and most obvious course that Adam Smith would teach if he were still alive today and a professor at a University would be Econ 150 also known as Economic Reasoning. Econ 150 is an introduction to the fundamental economic concepts and theories that are the back-bone of current day economics. The class covers subjects such as supply and demand, resource allocation, market models, national income measurement, money creation, and fiscal and monetary policy. It also focuses on the application of economic evaluation and thinking for social policy. Smith would be a perfect candidate to teach this class because he basically came up with every concept covered in the class. He was the one who developed the free market system. Therefore, because he was the one who came up with all of the ideas covered in the class, he would obviously be the ultimate professor for the class.

The second class that Adam Smith would teach at University would be Econ 350 which is also known as Economic Development and Growth. According to the Westminster College Undergraduate Catalog for 2008-2009, Econ 350 is a "Theoretical and empirical analysis of the causes of lack of development in the Third World." The course focuses on the problems affecting development in newly developed or developing countries. These problems include agricultural development, population growth, income distribution, employment, education, and more. The causes for the problems are the focus of the class. Mr. Smith would be an excellent professor for this class because like I stated before he laid the basics of economics. However, when he laid the basics it was in the late 18^th century when industrialization had not yet occurred in any country, and the problems that he faced during his lifetime are very similar to the ones faced by Third World Countries today. Smith created the current day economic policies from scratch in a country that had no true economy. This is very similar to what is trying to be accomplished in these Thirds World Countries which have not real economy. Therefore, Smith has hands on experience with the problems faced in these countries and would have great ideas to share with economic and business majors at Westminster College.

The third and final class that Smith would teach at a University is Econ 365 which is also known as International Trade and Finance. Econ 365 covers theories and policies of international trade, open economy macroeconomics (a focus on an industry or economy as an aggregate not individually), and international finance. The course concentrates primarily on trade policies in advanced and developing countries, monetary and fiscal policies, international debt, and the global capital market. Smith would be a great professor for this class because he would have knowledge of the economy in which he formed the basic structure of in Europe. He would also bring ideas to the table in which how countries could trade efficiently and intelligently using a free market system, which he created as well.

Cluster Course that Adam Smith would teach:

It was very difficult to find a cluster course that is currently being taught at Westminster College and other liberal art institutions that directly relates to Economics which was Smith's primary focus. However, Adam Smith also had a great understanding of politics, philosophy and sociology. Therefore, I believe that if Adam Smith were to teach a cluster at Westminster College it would be the Public and Social Policy cluster course. This cluster is composed of SOC 108 and PS 241. SOC 108, also known as Social Problems and Policies, is a course that examines society's actions for resolving issues of public concern. These issues include poverty, unemployment, disability, and other current day problems in society. PS 241, also known as Public Policy, is a course that introduces students to theories of policy making and implementation. The course focuses on the American political system. There is a concentration on how improvements can be made to public policies.

Smith would be a great person to teach this cluster because of his knowledge of sociology and politics, not to mention economics. SOC 108 would be easily taught by Smith because of the economical underlying problems such as unemployment, poverty, and disability. Smith would have a good understanding of how to deal with these issues from his experiences as an economist. He would understand why unemployment is occurring within a particular economy and ways to help fix it. He would also know how the redistribution of wealth throughout a nation could help fix poverty because his novel, The Wealth of Nations, emphasized the importance of redistribution of wealth. Smith's political knowledge and ability to form economical policies would help him to teach PS 241. In addition to being a great economist, the first I should state, Adam had a great knowledge of political systems. Since PS 241 focuses on making policies and pays particular attention to the application of those policies to the American Political System, Smith would have no problems understanding how to relay information to his students. Smith himself created economical policies and applied them, he would most definitely be able to instruct students the correct way to form any kind of policy.