Did Adam Smith Favour Large Government?

Another interesting question about Adam Smith's thought from the Adam Smith's Lost Legacy blog. Gavin Kennedy aims to put Smith's ideas on the role of government into context. Smith was writing in the context of 18th century Britain and this must be remembered when looking at Smith's views on government. Smith is often quoted as limiting the state to three important functions: national defence, administration of justice (law and order), and the provision of certain public goods (e.g., transportation infrastructure and basic and applied education). But as Kennedy points out

It was not so much that Adam Smith wanted government expenditures to be restricted to ‘national defense, administration of justice (law and order), and the provision of certain public goods (e.g., transportation infrastructure and basic and applied education)’ but, in important functions in that list, he wanted government expenditures to expand substantially to provide the necessary elements of the listed functions.

The whole article is worth reading.