Biography on Adam Smith

Adam Smith, who is well known as the father of capitalism, was born in Scotland in 1723. After turning fifteen, he went to Glasgow University, where he majored in moral philosophy. A short two years later he carried his education on to Balliol College, in Edinburgh. While there, he began giving public speeches.

At the age of twelve he had already began his studies at Edinburgh and was very successful at school; he became the leading man of English letters in his time. Writers were the great "money agents" in Scotland and they held an essential role in the up-and-coming money market, which provided the capital for improvements in agriculture, manufacturing and commerce. Adam Smith always knew people who engaged in farming and he thought the best improver was the small landowner. The small businessman knew every part of their area and was able to view it with incredible affection.

Profile of Adam Smith

First page from Wealth of Nations, 1776 London edi...

English: Title page of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nati...

In 1751, just a short time after attending, he became the professor of logic at Glasgow University, and then was selected to be chairman of moral philosophy a year later. He lectured on such topics as ethics, rhetoric, jurisprudence, and political economy, commonly known as "police and revenue". A famous work of his, the "Theory of Moral Sentiments", was published in 1759, and contained some of his lectures from Glasgow. This book emphasized the general harmony of human motives and activities under a beneficent destiny. He published his most prominent work, "The Wealth of Nations", in 1776. Its emphasis was on a more general theme of "the invisible hand", which supported both the agreement of interests, and free trade. Nonetheless, people were not convinced of the advantages of free trade right away. "The Wealth of Nations" was and is known as the first and most...