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Adam Smith

Introduction

Life and Times of Adam Smith

Adam Smith was born on 5th of June 1723 in a small village, Kirkcaldy, in Scotland. He was raised by his mother. His father died during his early years of childhood. Adam Smith entered the prestigious University of Glasgow, when he was fourteen years old. He was granted a scholarship to study there. From Glasgow, he went to Oxford's Balliol College to study European Literature. During his period of studies, Adam Smith developed dislike for the English schooling system.

After attaining his education from Oxford, Adam Smith went back to Scotland. In Scotland, he delivered an array of lectures. These lectures were well received and he was thus made chair of logic in 1751. Later on, he was also elected as the chair of moral philosophy in 1752, at University of Glasgow. During his tenure as lecturer Adam Smith gave important lectures in subjects like ethics, theology, economics and jurisprudence.

Adam Smith remained at University of Glasgow till 1764. Then, he travelled across Europe with the Duke of Buccleuch (The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics). There in his travels, he met personalities such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Anne-Robert-Jacques-Trugot and Francois Quesnay, amongst other notable scholars and thinkers of the era. After gaining important insights and sufficient money from his travels, Adam Smith again returned to his homeland. In Scotland, Adam Smith started composing 'The Wealth of Nations”. This work first published in 1776 as a series comprising of 5 books. In 1778, Adam Smith was appointed as the commissioner of customs. This position of high-esteem can be attributed to his writings on smuggling. Smith suggested that the acts of smuggling can become legitimate if the State represses the citizenry with 'unnatural' legislation. Adam Smith was a bachelor all his life and died in Edinburgh on the 19th of July, 1790, at the age of 67 years (The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics).

Purpose

The aim of the paper is to summarize the essential economic theories presented by Adam Smith and its macroeconomic implications in the world today.

Discussion

Adam Smith is considered by many as the founding father of the free-market economy. He gave a coherent rationale on why the self-interest motives in a free-market based economy can lead to economic well-being for the concerned person and thus for the whole economy. His ideologies on economics are considered by many as individualistic, selfish and ruthless Following is a quote by ...