Adam Smith

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Adam Smith

The purpose of this report is to educate the reader on a great man, the "Father of Economics", Adam Smith. His two unequal works, Theory of moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations laid the groundwork for several economists today. His concepts, such as the "invisible hand" and opinions are widely respected and integral to economic theory three centuries later.
Adam Smith was born the son of the comptroller of customs at Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland in 1723, his father dying six months earlier. He studied at Glasgow University, then Oxford before moving on to deliver public lectures. In 1751 Smith was made a professor of Logic at Glasgow University, and then was promoted to the Chair of Logic, a post held until 1763, which he relinquished to become a tutor to the Duke of Buccleuch in France during 1764-66. Upon return, Smith is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1776 Smith published the Wealth of Nations; seven years later becoming a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
On July 17, 1790, Adam Smith dies after an illness. The Theory of Sentiments, published in 1759, was based on his Glasgow lectures. This work is concerned with the explanation of moral approval and disapproval. He bases his explanation on sympathy, focusing on the standards of ethical conduct that hold society together, emphasizing the general harmony of human motives and activities under a beneficent Providence. In 1776, while America was signing the Declaration of Independence, Smith moved to London and authored his world renowned Wealth of Nations, which examines the consequences of economic freedom. It covered the role of self-interest; the division of labor, the theory being if everyone does what he or she does best, the society as a whole would become more productive; the function of markets; and the international implications of a laissez-faire economy. At the time of publishing, there w...