Adam Smith
Adam Smith is a renowned economist who has accomplished three great things. The first great accomplishment of Smith is the definite substitution of income for the older idea of a capital aggregation of “treasure”. His second accomplishment is the use of wealth per head in lieu of wealth in the aggregate. His third great accomplishment is the approval of working, investing and trading for personal gain (Phillipson 21). Smith is a phenomenal economist who tried to show that there was one element at the basis of all the rest of the members of society, which is the competition. Although he considered the competitive effort of individuals for gain can be considered as a notable service, he believes that it cannot be considered as a sufficient credential (Phillipson 21). He became the author of “Wealth of Nations”. In this book, Smith has outlined the initial system of political economy. His ideas provide a reflection of economics that can be traced back to the time of the initiation of Industrial Revolution, wherein he discussed that free-market economies, such as the capitalist markets, can be considered as the most dynamic and valuable within any society (Phillipson 24). Furthermore, he argued that having an economic system that works for the benefit of the greatest good for the majority must be based on individual self-interest and to be guided by an unseen hand. His book “The Wealth of Nations” was widely acclaimed that it emerged as one of the most influential work that founded classical economics, which resulted to its far-reaching reputation across the world.
“The Wealth of Nations” initiated the birth of political economy where economics was first discovered which made use of gold and silver as the country’s wealth. He suggested that the wealth of the country must be measured by the overall production and commerce. At present, this is called the gross national product or the “GDP”.
Smith was also a distinguished lecturer where he delivered public lectures that began in 1748. He became a lecturer of the University of Edinburgh, where his topics that deliberated on the economic philosophy, which talks about natural liberty and the progress of opulence (Wood 17). He had a gift for public speaking that led to him to become a professor in Glasgow University where he taught logic courses in 1751. He devoted the next thirteen years as a professor, which he considered as the most honorable and fulfilling stage in his life (Wood 19). Smith became a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh thereafter. In 1759, he also wrote the “Theory of Moral Sentiments” which contained majority of lectures in Glasgow University. Such work talked about human morality and how it was dependent on the sympathy between individuals and the other members of society in the concept of an agent and spectator (Wood 30). His work explains how an individual recognizes feelings that are also felt and experienced by another person. His book “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” became a huge success that many students who came from wealthy families decided to quit their schools in their countries, and decided to transfer to Glasgow University to learn from him (Wood 20). One of Smith’s famous philosophy is that the labor is the factor which can increase national wealth, rather than gold or silver. For him, labor is the source of mercantilism, and it has become an accepted economic theory within the Western European region.
Works Cited:
Phillipson, Nicolas. Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life. New York: Penguin Group, 2010.
Print.
Wood, John Cunningham. Adam Smith: Critical Assessments, Volume 1. New York:
Routledge, 1993. Print.
