person1723–1790

Adam Smith

Disciplines:

Summary

Scottish moral philosopher and economist — author of The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments — founder of modern economics — whose invisible hand metaphor and division of labor analysis are the foundational concepts of market economics.

Core Contribution

Creates the systematic account of market economics — The Wealth of Nations' arguments (that specialization increases productivity, that markets coordinate activity through price signals without central direction, and that free trade benefits all parties) are the foundational propositions of market economics and have been the primary intellectual resource for free market advocates for 250 years.

Key Spikes & Highlights

The invisible hand appears only 3 times in his complete works — twice incidentally and once briefly in The Wealth of Nations; the phrase became the central metaphor of market economics despite being marginal in Smith's actual argument; it is the most consequential metaphor-from-marginalia in intellectual history
Never married and lived with his mother until she died — he was so absorbed in thought that he reportedly walked 15 miles in his dressing gown before noticing; the absent-minded philosopher stereotype originates partly with Smith, whose domestic life was entirely secondary to the intellectual project

Notable Works & Achievements

The Theory of Moral Sentiments

The Wealth of Nations

Lectures on Jurisprudence

Historical Influences

Francis Hutcheson David Hume The Physiocrats

Intellectual Lineage

Kirkcaldy, Scotland Glasgow University Oxford University of Glasgow Tutor to the Duke of Buccleuch Edinburgh

Contemporaries & Peers

David Hume Benjamin Franklin Edmund Burke

Minds Influenced

Economics Free market political economy

Intellectual Posterity

The Wealth of Nations Invisible hand Division of labor Free trade argument Modern economics

Discussing

Adam Smith

Ask anything about Adam Smith — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

person1723–1790

Adam Smith

Disciplines:

economics

moral philosophy

switzerland/scotland

entertainment/enlightenment

Summary

Core Contribution

Key Spikes & Highlights

The invisible hand appears only 3 times in his complete works — twice incidentally and once briefly in The Wealth of Nations; the phrase became the central metaphor of market economics despite being marginal in Smith's actual argument; it is the most consequential metaphor-from-marginalia in intellectual history
Never married and lived with his mother until she died — he was so absorbed in thought that he reportedly walked 15 miles in his dressing gown before noticing; the absent-minded philosopher stereotype originates partly with Smith, whose domestic life was entirely secondary to the intellectual project

Notable Works & Achievements

The Theory of Moral Sentiments

The Wealth of Nations

Lectures on Jurisprudence

Historical Influences

Francis Hutcheson David Hume The Physiocrats

Intellectual Lineage

Kirkcaldy, Scotland Glasgow University Oxford University of Glasgow Tutor to the Duke of Buccleuch Edinburgh

Contemporaries & Peers

David Hume Benjamin Franklin Edmund Burke

Minds Influenced

Economics Free market political economy

Intellectual Posterity

The Wealth of Nations Invisible hand Division of labor Free trade argument Modern economics

Discussing

Adam Smith

Ask anything about Adam Smith — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.