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Image from flickr.com
Theatre in Adam Smith's Birthplace

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I was a Scottish social philosopher and political economist. I don’t quite remember my birth date. However, I am aware that I was baptized on June 5th, 1723 in Kikcaldy Scotland. My father passed away a few months before my birth, so I was raised by my mother and uncle. My childhood was, for the most part, quite ordinary – except that I was kidnapped at three and was plagued by ill health. People described me as “intelligent and inquisitive” in my youth.

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I entered the University of Glasgow at 14 and won a scholarship to Oxford in 1740. I spent six years at Oxford and left to the University of Edinburg, giving public lectures. Not all my pupils adored me. Some of them called me the “notoriously absent minded professor” who always talked to himself and fell into deep reveries. I apologize, but the fact that the society was functioning despite the self-interest of individuals was just utterly fascinating. I suppose my eccentric nature may have not have yielded the best for the students. But importantly, it was there where I met my good old friend, David Hume.

Meeting David gave me the opportunity to move to the University of Glasgow. I taught there since then, in 1751. David had a considerable amount of influence. I combine some of his ideas to mine in the Wealth of Nations.

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Here are my major publications:
The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)

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Here are my major ideas:

Laissez-faire

free markets and minimizing government intervention and taxation

Production is based on consumption.

The Law of Supply and Demand

At the time the term "Law of Supply and Demand" was not yet coined. Instead, I used the metaphor of the "Invisible Hand" to explain the concept of supply and demand as a natural force guiding the economy.

The Invisible Hand

an unobservable market force that help the flow of economics

When people act in their own self-interest, they benefit the whole economy

Division of Labor:

Specialization can help the economy become more productive.

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Image from econlib.org

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I am commonly referred to as "the father of economics" because my economic laid the foundation for the modern study of economics. I founded the concept of division of labour, and showed how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity. The metaphor of "the invisible hand" I used in my Wealth of Nations book is now a commonly used economic term to describe the natural tendencies of free market economies.

I am also known as the "father of capitalism" for my belief in free market economies, which at the time I referred to as "commercial society". Many refer to my Wealth of Nations book as the "bible of capitalism".

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Image from biography.com

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Friedrich Hayek: built upon free market theories
Thomas Malthus
Karl Marx: Used my labour theories
John Maynard Keynes: built upon free market theories
David Ricardo
Milton Friedman: built upon free market theories

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"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." -Adam Smith