Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations has been among the world books for over two hundred years and has gathered a mythology, which does scant justice to the actual book. One reason for this was that the Wealth of Nations was one of a series of studies through which Smith hoped to complete his system of moral, social and natural philosophy.

The Individual in Society illustrates this system, especially in relation to Smith's other major work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments and examines its relation to the Wealth of Nations. Included are:
* Chapters on the views of important commentators such as Zeyss, Eckstein, Jacob Viner and James Bonar
* Discussion of the ethical and sociological background of Smith's work and its influence on the thought of the next century.