Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations essays

Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations essays The Nature And Sources Of The Wealth Of Nations Adam Smith has been regarded to be the father of modern economics, and many of his ideas have been integrated the nations in the present day western world. His major work was "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," where he discusses many of his economic views. Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, and raised by his mother, Margaret Douglas. His father, Comptroller of Customs in Kirkcaldy, died before Smith was born. Smith began his education at the University of Glasgow at the age of 14. He demonstrated a talent for math and physics, but his interest was in philosophy, to which he applied his analytical skills and tireless inquiry for the rest of his life. He later studied at Oxford, although he wasnt satisfied with the education provided at the famous university, and later returned to Scotland to lecture in Edinburgh. Smith gained fame as an intellectual in 1759, when he published of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which was based on his lectures from Edinburgh and Glasgow, where he was Professor of Logic and then Professor of Moral Philosophy for thirteen years. Following his position at the University of Glasgow, Smith became tutor for the third Duke of Buccleuch in France and Geneva, where he met Voltaire and other philosophers. Perspectives gained during this time inspired Smith's work on Wealth of Nations Smith showed surprising conclusions during his time, when he applied scientific principles to economic behavior. One of his conclusions was that people mainly acted out of their own self-interests, and if permitted to follow their instincts, it created natural harmony and economic productivity. This would occur and was led without any conscious control or direction, as if by an invisible hand. According to Smith's "The Wealth of Nations," he stated the idea that a greater division of labor lead to increased p...