Free trade for protectionists : a customs officer's struggle to establish Adam Smith's economic thought in Sweden

Abstract

This article reconsiders the first partial translations of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations into Swedish in light of the new translation studies. It particularly looks at one translator and explores his agenda and motivations for translating Smith and how this affects our understanding of these early translations. This article argues that, by concentrating on the translator’s intentions, it is possible to shed light on the translation as a gambit in a domestic agenda and helps us re-evaluate their impact and meaning beyond the simple diffusion of ideas.