Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by Adam Smith (Scottish Philosopher)

Adam Smith (1723–90) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. Often regarded as the founder of modern economics, he advocated free trade, private enterprise, and minimal state interference. He argued that the impulse of individual self-interest would work toward public welfare.

Born in Kirkcaldy, a town on the east coast of Scotland, Smith studied at Glasgow and Oxford Universities. He taught logic and moral philosophy at Glasgow University but left Glasgow to travel on the Continent as a tutor to Henry Scott, the future Duke of Buccleuch. Smith then settled in Kirkcaldy with his mother. In 1778, he was appointed a commissioner of customs for Scotland; he served in that role until his death.

Smith is best known for his book Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776.) Blending his philosophy of society, theology, ethics, politics, and law, Smith outlined a theory of wealth and how it is accumulated. He argued that self-interest is perhaps the only criterion of economic behavior. If people were set free to improve themselves, it would—“as if by an invisible hand of the market”—actually produce economic prosperity for the whole of society. The Wealth of Nations defined classical economics—it arguably has had more influence on the development of Western capitalism than any other. It is often used as a justification for the rugged pursuit of self-interest.

Smith is also noted for his previous work The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759,) which established his reputation first. In this discourse, he argued that people were born with a sense of right and wrong, and of how to behave towards others.

Smith never married and lived with his mother until she died, just six years before he passed away. He is believed to have discarded Christianity in favor of deism, a religious philosophy that rejects miracles and other supernatural occurrences. However, some consider he was closer to being an atheist.

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by Adam Smith

As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce.
Adam Smith
Topics: Property

Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production, and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.
Adam Smith
Topics: Business

The real price of everything is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.
Adam Smith
Topics: Wealth

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?
Adam Smith
Topics: Happiness

Whatever a person saves from his revenue he adds to his capital, and either employs it himself in maintaining an additional number of productive hands, or enables some person to do so … for a share of profits. As the capital of an individual can be increased only by what he saves … so the capital of a society can be increased only in the same manner.
Adam Smith
Topics: Wealth

As soon as government management begins it upsets the natural equilibrium of industrial relations, and each interference only requires further bureaucratic control until the end is the tyranny of the totalitarian state.
Adam Smith
Topics: Government

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