About this episode

The episode discusses the historical context of the Declaration of Independence and its relationship with Adam Smith's economic theories.

The Declaration of Independence, which founded the United States as an independent nation, was written in 1776—the same year that Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, the most prominent early treatise on international capitalism. Whether that represents a coincidence remains an ongoing debate. What’s clear, however, is that over the past two and a half centuries, the United States emerged as a slave economy, a free labor economy, a debtor nation, a creditor nation, and ultimately a powerful empire. Adam and Cameron discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Cameron

Topics covered

• American history
• Declaration of Independence
• international capitalism
• economic systems
• slavery
• empire

Keywords

• Declaration of Independence
• Adam Smith
• The Wealth of Nations
• American history
• economic systems
• slavery
• empire

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Wealth of Nations

More episodes of Ones and Tooze

• Spain vs. Argentina · July 17, 2026 · 43 min
• The AI Arms Race · July 10, 2026 · 46 min
• Summer Davos · June 26, 2026 · 40 min
• Two Topics: Brexit and D-Day · June 19, 2026 · 48 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ones and Tooze podcast page.