What would Adam Smith Make of Modern Australia

by Joseph Healy

You would think that English 18th-Century writer, intellectual, ‘Father of Economics’, Adam Smith would have lost relevance in our modern society. Quite the opposite, according to Joseph Healy, who believes there is much to learn from Adam Smith, if we are to strive for a more equitable, productive and happier society.

Australia today is prosperous by many traditional economic measures yet getting progressively poorer by other measures of what constitutes a vibrant, healthy and good society. And the direction of travel is concerning. Australia’s economic pie (GDP) might be growing, but too many people are getting smaller and smaller pieces of it, and a handful are getting far more than they can possibly eat.

This thought-provoking book explores how our economic progress seems inversely correlated to a decline in important measures of societal wellbeing, such as the alarming increase in family dysfunctionality, domestic violence, the scale and scope of mental health-associated problems and a persistently deteriorating trend in baseline education. In many ways, Australia is becoming a divided society, and this is a serious trajectory if not addressed and corrected.

With historical and recent references, Healy has written an important and engaging discourse for readers keen to understand where our society can improve and how we can assist.

256 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2025

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author exposes the lies of the neocons/ economic rationalists/neoliberals who selectively quote from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to backup their extreme laissez faire approach to economics and society. It started with Reagan and Thatcher in the 1980s.

Adam Smith was NOT in favour of governments letting big business do whatever they wanted. He believed in some government regulation of the private sector. He was wary of governments that get too big - he preferred small but strong governments that were capable of maintaining standards of corporate behaviour and preventing exploitation of the poor (in contrast to big business that want very small, or no, governments).

[Meeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Healy deepens our understanding of capitalism’s decline, revealing how Adam Smith’s original ideals have been distorted by individual and collective greed. Through a well-referenced, factual lens, he unpacks the roots of growing social unease. Just as importantly, he offers guidance for an Australia where inequality, educational decline and mental health challenges can be redirected toward a fairer future. Though Healy has reached the heights of banking and business, his writing stands alongside that of true academic authors.
This book is for anyone seeking to understand the cause and effect behind the current state of Australia’s (and the West’s) economy. Personally, I hope policymakers take a page from it.

[Jaqui Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful exploration of where Australia is now in terms
of political economy, the creeping capture of government by
vested interests, the corporatisation of government and the declining
governance standards of companies.
It also explores more deeply Adam Smith's companion work
which I had never heard of, Theory of Moral Sentiments.

A great example of the need to read more deeply to understand the
context of some of those economic and political phrases and
sayings that are used all the time, but are only a bad summation
of the whole.

If you are concerned about how Australia's democracy and
governance is declining across business and government you'll
find this book a good, easy read,