The Chicago School is often associated with laissez-faire economics that reads into Adam Smith’s philosophy of political economy justifications for self-interest and prudential motivations. However, a careful history of the University of Chicago’s early Economics Department and School of Commerce and Administration reveals a more complicated understanding of how economics and business were to interact with one another and society. The early University of Chicago pursued a program that emphasized that laissez-faire economics and a concern for the public interest were not antagonists but perfectly compatible, writes David Mitch.