Adam Smith

Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher and one of the world's famous modern economists.

This article on Adam Smith focuses predominately on his published works. For an insight into the life, family and education of Adam Smith refer to our previously published work.

Adam Smith is credited with some of the most influential works of his time. Adam Smith wrote six main works, although he is believed to have had a store of other wittings which he had destroyed shortly before his death.

Adam Smith first had his first work, The Theory of Moral Sentiment, in 1759.It is regarded as being an underpinning factor behind all of his future works. As the title suggests, the book focuses on the subject of Moral Philosophy. In it, Adam Smith examines the nature of moral interactions within society and attempts to explain how exactly individuals are able to form moral judgments. Though this book is generally eclipsed in fame by his following book, The Theory of Moral Sentiment has always been believed to be much more favored by Adam Smith. It was revised an additional five times before Adam Smith passed away.

In 1776 Adam Smith published An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Commonly referred to as "The Wealth of Nations", it is by far considered to be Adam Smith's crowning work, in regards to popularity at least. This book came to be known as a classic economics text. Ironically, while Wealth of Nations is often associated with the "invisible hand" of the market, the concept was penned by Adam Smith in his previous work.

Adam Smith also published a small number of lesser known but still highly regarded other texts. In 1764, Adam Smith wrote "A Treatise on Public Opulence", Essays on Philosophical Subjects came in 1795, Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms was first published in 1896, although was first written in 1763.