Smith, A

Smith, A (1723.6.5-1790.7.17)

Birthplace Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
Posts Held Prof. Logic, Prof. Moral Philo., Univ. Glasgow, 1751-2, 1752-63; Tutor to Duke of Buccleuch, 1764-6; Adviser to Charles Townshend, 1766-7; Commissioner of Customs for Scotland, 1778-90.
Degrees MA Univ. Glasgow, 1740.
Publications Books: 1. The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759); 2. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776); 3. Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith , various eds, 6 vols (OUP, 1976-81).
Career Moral philosopher, often regarded as the founder of modern political economy. Though he wrote and lectured on a wide range of subjects, Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations were his only full-length treatises, whose underlying philosophy and methodology seems to have been established early in his life, and both, though superficially inconsistent, reflect a single view of the world. In Moral Sentiments he explored the ethical conduct of men under the influence of social pressures; the Wealth of Nations was concerned with economic processes resulting from the operation of self-interest, and was used to illustrate the nature of economic relations in a market society, including the economic policies appropriate to such an order. Its remarkable success meant that it effectively defined the scope and content of political economy for later generations and was widely cited as an authority in favour of free market, laissez faire economics, but is much more than the unsubtle apologia for private enterprise that it has been made to seem, allowing as it does an important regulationg function to government.
Secondary Literature J. Viner, `Smith, Adam', International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences , D. L. Sills (ed.) (Macmillan and Free Press, 1968), vol. 14; S. Hollander, The Economics of Adam Smith (Univ. Toronto Press, 1973); J. R. Lundgren, The Social Philosophy of Adam Smith (Martinus Nijhoff, 1974); Essays on Adam Smith , eds., A. S. Skinner and T. Wilson (OUP, 1976); D. Winch, Adam Smith's Politics (CUP, 1978); A. S. Skinner, A System of Social Science (OUP, 1979); J. C. Wood, ed., Adam Smith: Critical Assessments , 4 vols (Croom Helm, 1984). [Mark Blaug, Great Economists Before Keynes: An Introduction to the Lives and Works of One Hundread Great Economists of the Past , Brighton: Wheatsheaf, 1986.]

French Texts
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (unimelb.edu.au) ex. from the original text and the 5 first French translations

Reference Resources
Published Works of Adam Smith (socsci.mcmaster.ca)

Published Works of Adam Smith (ecn.bris.ac.uk)

Published Works of Adam Smith (unimelb.edu.au)

Letter from Adam Smith,LL,D. to William Strahan,ESQ. Kirkalky, Fifeshire, Nov.9.1776 (utm.edu)

George, Horne (1730-1792), A Letter to Adam Smith,LL.D. on the Life, Death, and Phiolsophy of his friend David Hume, Esq. (utm.edu)

Bibliography of works regarding Adam Smith (Augustana.AB.CA)

"The Political Economy of Adam Smith" (socsci.mcmaster.ca) Fortnightly Review, November 1, 1870.

"The Political Economy of Adam Smith" (ecn.bris.ac.uk) Fortnightly Review, November 1, 1870.

"The Political Economy of Adam Smith" (unimelb.edu.au) Fortnightly Review, November 1, 1870.

James Anson Farrer, Adam Smith: Biographical Sketch (1881) (socsci.mcmaster.ca) Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington

James Anson Farrer, Adam Smith: Biographical Sketch (1881) (ecn.bris.ac.uk) Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington

James Anson Farrer, Adam Smith: Biographical Sketch (1881) (unimelb.edu.au) Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington

Adam Smith Collection and a introduction by Prof. Toshiharu Nozawa (ll.chiba-u.ac.jp) (in Japanese)

Other Image
Hall of Economists (wiso.uni-erlangen.de)

Portraits of Well-known Economists (econ.duke.edu) Duke University

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