Overview
Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and political economist of the Enlightenment, professor at Glasgow and friend of Hume. The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) precedes The Wealth of Nations (1776), which analyzes markets, division of labor, and commercial society. He traveled as tutor in Europe and later served as a customs official. Handbook dates: 1723–1790. Caricatures of pure selfishness miss his moral psychology.
Main ideas
Sympathy and the impartial spectator explain moral judgment without reducing ethics to utility alone. Division of labor raises productivity yet can narrow minds without education. Markets coordinate via price signals—the “invisible hand” metaphor in limited contexts—while justice requires enforceable rules. Mercantilist privileges distort natural liberty of trade. Virtues of prudence, justice, and beneficence structure character in commercial society. Political economy is continuous with moral philosophy, not a value-free science of greed.
Major works
- The Theory of Moral Sentiments
- The Wealth of Nations
- Lectures on Jurisprudence
- Essays on philosophical subjects
Legacy
Smith founded modern economics’ self-image while remaining central to ethics and political theory. Debates on capitalism continually re-stage Moral Sentiments against Wealth of Nations. Scottish Enlightenment curricula still pair him with Hume.