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Adam Smith

1723–1790

Nationality: Scottish

Adam Smith (1723-1790) is commonly regarded as the first modern economist with the publication in 1776 of The Wealth of Nations. He wrote in a wide range of disciplines: moral philosophy, jurisprudence, rhetoric and literature, and the history of science. He was one of the leading figures in the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith also studied the social forces giving rise to competition, trade, and markets. While professor of logic, and later professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow University, he also had the opportunity to travel to France, where he met François Quesnay and the physiocrats; he had friends in business and the government, and drew broadly on his observations of life as well as careful statistical work summarizing his findings in tabular form. He is viewed as the founder of modern economic thought, and his work inspires economists to this day. The economic phrase for which he is most famous, the “invisible hand” of economic incentives, was only one of his many contributions to the modern-day teaching of economics. [The image comes from “The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.”]

See also our sister site, AdamSmithWorks.

See the Liberty Matters online discussions on Smith, Hume, and Burke as Policy Liberals and Polity Conservatives and What Adam Smith Means to Me

For additional information about Adam Smith see the following:

Essays on Adam Smith
Timeline on the Life and Work of Adam Smith
in the Library: the classic Life of Adam Smith by John Rae
at our sister website Econlib: the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics entry on Adam Smith
in the Goodrich Seminar Room: Adam Smith

Watch the OLL Video Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations

Quotes from Adam Smith:

Adam Smith on retaliation in a trade war
Adam Smith on the propensity to truck, barter, and exchange
Adam Smith on the legitimacy of using force to ensure justice
Adam Smith on the illegitimacy of using force to promote beneficence
Adam Smith on political candidates acting as if they are above the law
Adam Smith on the dangers of faction and privilege seeking
Adam Smith on why people obey/defer to rulers
Adam Smith on the “liberal system” of free trade
Adam Smith on Slavery
Adam Smith debunks that idea that when it comes to public debt “we owe it to ourselves”
Adam Smith on the need for “peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice”
Adam Smith on social change and “the man of system”
Adam Smith on compulsory attendance in the classroom
Adam Smith on how “furious monopolists” will fight to the bitter end to keep their privileges
Adam Smith on the ridiculousness of romantic love
Adam Smith on how governments drain money from their citizens
Adam Smith on the greater productivity brought about by the division of labor and technological innovation
Adam Smith on who colleges and universities ACTUALLY benefit
Adam Smith, Patriotism, and the Welfare of Our Fellow Citizens
Adam Smith on Good Wine and Free Trade
Adam Smith on the Butcher, the Brewer, and the Baker
Adam Smith claims that exorbitant taxes imposed without consent constitute legitimate grounds for the people to resist their rulers
Adam Smith observes that the true costs of war remain hidden from the taxpayers
Adam Smith on consumption as the only end and purpose of production
Adam Smith notes that colonial governments might exercise relative freedom in the metropolis but impose tyranny in the distant provinces
Adam Smith argues that the Habeas Corpus Act is a great security against the tyranny of the king
Adam Smith, Employment, and the Advantages to Society
Adam Smith on Religion and the Rules of Morality
Adam Smith on money as an instrument of commerce as well as a measure of value
Adam Smith on Happiness, Tranquility, and Enjoyment
Adam Smith, Selfishness, and Sympathy
Adam Smith on Inequality Between the Rich and the Poor
Adam Smith argued that the “propensity to truck, barter, and exchange” was inherent in human nature and gave rise to things such as the division of labour
Adam Smith on Admiration of the Rich and Powerful
Adam Smith on how Government Regulation and Taxes might drive a Man to Drink
Adam Smith on the rigorous education of young Fitzmaurice
Adam Smith on the Sympathy one feels for those Vanquished in a battle rather than for the Victors
Adam Smith on the “Wonder, Surprise, and Admiration” one feels when contemplating the physical World
Adam Smith on the Dangers of sacrificing one’s Liberty for the supposed benefits of the “lordly servitude of a court”
Adam Smith on the natural ordering Tendency of Free Markets, or what he called the “Invisible Hand

Titles from Adam Smith:

Adam Smith

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