Quesnay’s innovative idea prompted Smith to begin to write his own book on economics. He believed a nation’s wealth came from its farm produce, which circulated throughout the land, nourishing everyone. Quesnay took issue with the popular belief, known as mercantilism, that a nation’s wealth was its hoard of gold or silver. Quesnay had devised a system called "Physiocracy," which he believed explained the source of national wealth. Smith also met the leading French economist, Francois Quesnay. Smith traveled to Paris with his student and met Voltaire and other philosophers involved in the French Enlightenment. In 1763, Smith quit his professorship at Glasgow and tutored the stepson of Charles Townshend, who later became Britain’s treasury minister in the years leading up to the American Revolution. He concluded that self-seeking individuals were "led by an invisible hand" that caused them to unintentionally act in ways that still benefited society. He contended, however, that this was not bad. there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it.īut Smith also believed that people often acted in their self-interest, especially in economic matters. He pointed out that no matter how selfish a man might be, At the beginning of the book, he stated that all people had the capacity to care about others.
His book looked at human nature and ethics. In 1759, Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
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He actively took part in Glasgow debating societies and often argued for free trade. Smith became a professor of philosophy at Glasgow in 1751. After graduating, he attended Oxford in England and studied philosophy. At 14, he entered the University of Glasgow. In 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, probably the most influential book on market economics ever written.īorn in 1723, Adam Smith was the son of a customs official in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. 1)Īdam Smith and The Wealth of Nations | Progressives and the Era of Trustbusting | The Development of Antitrust Enforcement | Media Mergers and the Public Interest Adam Smith and The Wealth of NationsĪs the American Revolution began, a Scottish philosopher started his own economic revolution. Bill of Rights in Action Spring 2007 (Volume 23, No.
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