Economics
1723 to 1790, Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Markets, self interest, and the wealth of nations.
Start learning Adam →How the pursuit of self-interest, channelled by competition and prices, can serve the common good - and where that famous mechanism breaks down.
Smith the moral philosopher - on sympathy, the impartial spectator, and why the man famous for self-interest founded morality on fellow-feeling.
Smith’s revolution in what wealth is : not a nation’s hoard of gold but the productive labour of its people - and the labour theory of value that idea launched.
Smith’s demolition of mercantilism and his case for open commerce - that trade is mutual gain, not a zero-sum war for gold - and the powerful objections it provoked.
The Adam Smith who distrusted businessmen, championed the poor, and assigned the state essential duties - far from the free-market absolutist of legend.
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