Adam Smith: Father of Economics

Adam Smith is regarded is the ‘Father of Economics’. He was born in 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. Smith advocated for the following of the basic and simple system of natural liberty which later came to be known as free market economy. He became a popular figure when he became a professor at Glasgow University, lecturing on topics such as political economy. After spending a few years lecturing in France, Smith moved to London in 1766, where he started work on his most famous publication, ‘The Wealth of Nations’, a treatise on economics which he completed in 1776. At the time of publication of ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Europe and much of the Western World was either following or supporting the economic policy of mercantilism. Government intervention in the economies and economic policies was a major characteristic of mercantilism. Governments imposed many tariffs, taxes, and fixed prices on goods. In England, unemployment was strongly discouraged, monopolies were rewarded, and hours were regulated. The Wealth of Nations was a revolutionary treatise written by Adam Smith challenged these ideas and advocated for a market economy minus government intervention.

Smith’s economic theories mostly form the basis of economics today. His theory of the free market economy serves as the blueprint for the capitalist economy in the United States and also for various other countries throughout the world that have adopted the similar economic systems.