The date of Smith's baptism into the Church of Scotland at Kirkcaldy was 5 June 1723 and this has often been treated as if it were also his date of birth, which is unknown.Īlthough few events in Smith's early childhood are known, the Scottish journalist John Rae, Smith's biographer, recorded that Smith was abducted by Romani at the age of three and released when others went to rescue him. Two months before Smith was born, his father died, leaving his mother a widow. Smith's mother was born Margaret Douglas, daughter of the landed Robert Douglas of Strathendry, also in Fife she married Smith's father in 1720. His father, also Adam Smith, was a Scottish Writer to the Signet (senior solicitor), advocate and prosecutor (judge advocate) and also served as comptroller of the customs in Kirkcaldy. Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, in Fife, Scotland. Smith was controversial in his own day and his general approach and writing style were often satirised by writers such as Horace Walpole. In this and other works, he developed the concept of division of labour and expounded upon how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity. The Wealth of Nations was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day.Īs a reaction to the common policy of protecting national markets and merchants, what came to be known as mercantilism-nowadays often referred to as "cronyism" or " crony capitalism" -Smith laid the foundations of classical free market economic theory. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow, teaching moral philosophy and during this time, wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at the University of Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by fellow Scot John Snell. Among other economic theories, the work introduced Smith's idea of absolute advantage. Smith refuses to explain the distribution of wealth and power in terms of God's will and instead appeals to natural, political, social, economic and technological factors and the interactions between them. The latter, often abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work that treats economics as a comprehensive system and as an academic discipline. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics" or "The Father of Capitalism", he wrote two classic works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). Adam Smith FRSA (baptised 16 June 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment.
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