adam smith

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Definition of adam smith in English English dictionary

{i} (1723-1790) Scottish philosopher and political economist (advocator of free market economy)

a Scottish economist who strongly believed in free enterprise (=an economic system in which private businesses are free to make money, and there is not much government control) .He developed his ideas in his book The Wealth of Nations, which has had an important influence on modern economic and political ideas (1723-90). (baptized June 5, 1723, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scot. died July 17, 1790, Edinburgh) Scottish social philosopher and political economist. The son of a customs official, he studied at the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford. A series of public lectures in Edinburgh (from 1748) led to a lifelong friendship with David Hume and to Smith's appointment to the Glasgow faculty in 1751. After publishing The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), he became the tutor of the future Duke of Buccleuch (1763-66); with him he traveled to France, where Smith consorted with other eminent thinkers. In 1776, after nine years of work, Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, the first comprehensive system of political economy. In it he argued in favour of an economic system based on individual self-interest that would be led, as if by an "invisible hand," to achieve the greatest good for all, and posited the division of labour as the chief factor in economic growth. A reaction to the system of mercantilism then current, it stands as the beginning of classical economics. The Wealth of Nations in time won him an enormous reputation and would become virtually the most influential work on economics ever published. Though often regarded as the bible of capitalism, it is harshly critical of the shortcomings of unrestrained free enterprise and monopoly. In 1777 Smith was appointed commissioner of customs for Scotland, and in 1787 rector of the University of Glasgow

Related Terms

Adam Smith Institute

a right-wing British organization that develops ideas about economics and gives advice to businesses and politicians. It is named after Adam Smith, an 18th century Scottish writer on economics

Hyphenation

Ad·am smith

Turkish pronunciation

ädım smîth

Pronunciation

/ˈadəm ˈsməᴛʜ/ /ˈædəm ˈsmɪθ/