June 29, 2026 — Adam Smith’s book The Wealth of Nations shares with the Declaration of Independence its 1776 birth year and hence its 2026 semiquincentennial. Both documents incarnated a set of liberal ideas that we associate with the Enlightenment. Much is made of the egregious respects in which men who spread these ideals, at the time, fell far short of extending rights to the entire population. This is true, of course. But saying so leaves out how absent altogether these ideals had previously been for almost all previous civilizations in history.