Gregory Collins

Gregory Collins is a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Program on Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University. His book on Edmund Burke’s economic thought, titled Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. Greg’s scholarly and teaching interests include the history of political thought, the philosophical and ethical implications of political economy, American political development, constitutional theory and practice, business ethics, and the political theory of abolition. He has published or has forthcoming articles on Burke’s economic thought (Review of Politics); Adam Smith’s commentary on the Navigation Acts and Anglo-American imperial relations (History of Political Thought);Frederick Douglass’ constitutional theory (American Political Thought); Burke’s and Smith’s views on Britain’s East India Company (Journal of the History of Economic Thought); Burke’s plan for the abolition of the slave trade (Slavery & Abolition); and Burke’s intellectual relationship with Leo Strauss and the Straussian political tradition (Perspectives on Political Science). His current book project is a comparative study of the political thought of Scottish and French Enlightenment thinkers and Burke that addresses questions regarding empire, commerce, morality, and historiography. Greg is the 2020 recipient of The Acton Institute’s Novak Award.

Greg received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Politics from The Catholic University of America in 2017 and his B.A. in political science from UMass Amherst in 2009. He lives with his wife and daughters in West Hartford, CT. Greg enjoys rooting for Boston sports teams and playing Scrabble, chess, and basketball in his spare time