Three years in the making, Dr Madsen Pirie, President & Dr Eamonn Butler, Director, of the Adam Smith Institute achieved a world first: the first major public monument to Adam Smith. Unveiled by Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Professor Vernon L. Smith, the magnificent statute was revealed to the world on July 4th 2008, during two days of celebrations. Standing ten feet tall, upon a ten foot pedestal, the striking bronze monument is a fitting, and belated, tribute to the pioneering economist and key thinker of the Scottish Enlightenment. From ASI’s own website, we learn that:
“The Statue shows Smith in later life — he spent his last years in Edinburgh — but still strong. Behind him is a plough, modelled from a contemporary plough in the Scottish Farming Museum, reminding us of the agrarian economics which Smith supplanted. Before him is a beehive, a symbol of the industry on which he believed progress was based. On top is a globe on which Smith rests his hand — made invisible by his academic gown. The gown itself reminds us of Smith the philosopher, exploring eternal ideas; and behind, St. Giles’s Cathedral completes the evocation. From the other side, we see Smith’s 18thC dress, with the City Chambers beyond, reminding us of Smith the economist, dealing with practical matters. His neckware is modelled on that worn by Thomas Jefferson, his wig is based on one of George Washington’s — recalling Smith’s strong support for free trade with America.”
Funded entirely by private donations, it is an outstanding reminder of his role in founding modern economics.
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