ADAM SMITH30th Most Influential Figures

in History

A Little Background Information About the Life of Adam Smith

Adam SmithName

June 5, 1723 Date of Baptism [Doesn’t Have Exact Birth date]

Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland Place of Birth

July 17, 1790 (Edinburgh, Scotland) Date and Place of Death

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Short Introduction about the works of Adam Smith

Shortly before his death Smith had nearly all his manuscripts destroyed. In his last years he seemed

to have been planning two major treatises, one on the theory and history of law and one on the sciences and arts. The

posthumously published Essays on Philosophical Subjects (1795) probably contain parts of what would have

been the latter treatise.

The Wealth of the Nations

was influential since it did so much to create the field of economics and develop it into an autonomous systematic

discipline. In the Western world, it is arguably the most influential book on the subject ever published. When the book, which has become a classic manifesto against mercantilism

(the theory that large reserves of bullion [Gold and Silver reserves] are essential for economic success), appeared in 1776,

there was a strong sentiment for free trade in both Britain and America.

This new feeling had been born out of the economic hardships and poverty caused by the American War of Independence. However,

at the time of publication, not everybody was immediately convinced of the advantages of free trade: the British public and Parliament still clung to mercantilism for many years to come.

The Wealth of the Nations

The Wealth of the Nations

The Wealth of Nations also rejects the Physiocratic school's emphasis on the importance of

land;

instead, Smith believed labor was paramount, and that a division of labour would affect a great increase in

production

One of the main points of The Wealth of Nations is that the free market, while appearing chaotic and unrestrained, is actually guided to produce the right amount and variety of

goods by a so-called "invisible hand" (originally written in Moral Sentiments).

The Wealth of the Nations

The Wealth of the Nations

was so successful, in fact, that it led to the abandonment of earlier economic schools, and later economists, such as

Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo, focused on refining Smith's theory into what is now known as classical

economics (Modern economics evolved from this).

Malthus expanded Smith's ruminations on overpopulation, while

Ricardo believed in the "iron law of wages" — that overpopulation would prevent wages from topping the

subsistence level. Smith postulated an increase of wages with an increase in production, a view considered more accurate

today.

Influence of the “Wealth of the Nation”

The Wealth of Nations, one of the earliest attempts to study the rise of industry and commercial development in

Europe, was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. It provided one of the best-known intellectual rationales for free trade and capitalism, greatly

influencing the writings of Marx and later economists.

Influence of the “Wealth of the Nation”

Major Works

The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)

The Wealth of Nations (1776)

Essays on Philosophical Subjects (published posthumously 1795)

Made With

Kredits

Group 1-Adam Smith Group

Celina Faye Manalastas

Researcher

Mariz Rae Amarillo

Reporter

Michael Rivera

Animations

And the Rest

Dedicated to our Angelic Economics

Teacher Mr. Alimurong

Ms. Sunglao