Adam Smith
Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a political economist, born in Kirkcaldy, Fife. He studied at Glasgow and Oxford, went to Edinburgh and became acquainted with David Hume and his confrères. He was appointed to the chair of Logic in Glasgow in 1751, and the year after of Moral Philosophy. His "Theory of Moral Sentiments," appeared in 1759. He visited Paris with the young Duke of Buccleuch, got acquainted with Quesnay, D'Alembert, and Necker, and returning in 1766, settled in his native place under a pension from the Duke of Buccleuch, where in 1776 he produced his "Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," a work to which he devoted 10 years of his life, and which has had a world-wide influence, and that has rendered his name world-famous. In 1778 he settled in Edinburgh as Commissioner of Customs for Scotland, and in 1787 was elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University.Wisdom & Quotes
- Every individual intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.
- People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.
- Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstitions.
- It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we except our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest.
Immanuel Kant