Adam Smith

Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and author whose works laid the foundations of modern political economy. He is best known for The Wealth of Nations, a landmark study of commerce, labor, markets, and economic development. Smith was born in June 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on June 5. His father, Adam Smith, was a lawyer and customs official who died before his son's birth. Smith was raised by his mother, Margaret Douglas, to whom he remained particularly close throughout his life. He studied at the University of Glasgow, where he was strongly influenced by the philosopher Francis Hutcheson. In 1740, Smith went to Oxford University on a scholarship. Although he later criticized aspects of Oxford's academic system, his years there provided him with extensive opportunities for independent reading and study. In 1751, Smith became professor of logic at the University of Glasgow and the following year was appointed professor of moral philosophy. His lectures covered ethics, jurisprudence, political economy, and related subjects, forming the intellectual basis for much of his later work. His first major book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, was published in 1759. Smith examined how people develop moral judgments through sympathy, social interaction, and an awareness of how others perceive their behavior. The work established him as an important moral philosopher long before the publication of The Wealth of Nations. In 1764, Smith left his university position to travel through Europe as tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch. During the journey he met leading French intellectuals, including Voltaire, François Quesnay, and Turgot. These encounters broadened his understanding of economic and political thought. Smith returned to Scotland and spent several years developing his ideas about economics and society. His most influential work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, was published in 1776. It examined the division of labor, productivity, prices, wages, trade, taxation, and the organization of economic activity. The Wealth of Nations is often associated with the concept of the “invisible hand,” Smith's expression for the way individual economic actions can contribute to broader social outcomes under certain conditions. However, Smith's economic thought was more complex than the simple idea of unrestricted self-interest: he also recognized the importance of justice, institutions, education, and public responsibilities. Smith spent his later years in Edinburgh and served as a commissioner of customs. He continued revising his works and remained engaged with philosophical and economic questions. He never married and lived a relatively private life devoted largely to study and intellectual work. Adam Smith died on July 17, 1790, in Edinburgh. He left instructions for many of his unpublished papers to be destroyed, and only a portion of his writings survived beyond his major published works. Smith's influence on economics, political philosophy, and social thought has been immense. The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations together present a broader vision of human society, combining questions of morality, social cooperation, economic activity, and institutional order. He remains one of the most important thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment.