Abstract: Adam Smith (1723–1790) was born "a fatherless and sickly child" to a "relatively well-to-do family" in Kirkaldy, Scotland.1 He was a lifelong friend of David Hume, a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, and, among other things, chair of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow. He is best known as a pioneer of political economy, but he was also a moral philosopher with an enduring interest in social theory and human psychology. Smith's first major work was The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), but he is better known for An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), which secured his reputation as the father of modern economics. Smith's most influential ideas relate to his theory of natural liberty and the free market, which formed the basis of what is now referred to as classical economics. But he also wrote on many other topics, including those of international relations and war.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 11
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