Adam Smith

Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher, and economist was born on June 5th, 1723 in Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom. He is best known for his book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations which was published in 1776. Smith argued the benefits of "free trade" and the importance of importing goods during a time in which these were viewed as a "folly". Many people had the perception that a countries' success is measured by amount of gold and silver they had in reserve. However, as we now know, it is the gross national product that plays one of the largest roles in determining the health of an economy.

 Before I was assigned this alias, I was previously exposed to his work in an economics class I took my senior year of high school. Before the class officially began, we were assigned a few books to read over the summer. One of them happened to be sections of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations along with another book by John Maynard Keynes. His writing sparked my interest in thinking and looking at the world from an economic standpoint. It was a completely new way of thinking about problems and from the first glance I was hooked.

Smith's work is every bit relevant to this class, as his ideas formed the basis for which economists foster their ideas and implement policies in today's day and age. The famous concept of the "invisible hand" is a concept that is highly practiced but also debated amongst governments, societies, and organizations across the globe. It forms the web by which type of political system is instilled in society, with conservatives tending to favor the concept of an invisible hand and independence from government institutions. Smith also looked into the ethics and the psychology of ethics which play a large role in every type of organization. 


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