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Adam Smith

Original nameAdam Smith

The "father of economics," author of The Wealth of Nations

The First to Read "Where Wealth Comes From" · The Birth of Economics
Classical EconomicsThe Invisible HandDivision of LaborFree Markets

Who they are

A Scottish philosopher and economist, honored as the "father of modern economics." In 1776 he published The Wealth of Nations, which for the first time organized the tangle of economic phenomena into a systematic discipline. He put forward an insight that still shapes us: in a market, each person pursues his own private gain, yet is led as if by an "invisible hand" to promote the welfare of society as a whole. He praised the astonishing efficiency of the division of labor and argued that government should intervene little and let the market run free. For more than two centuries of free-market economics he wrote the first, and most far-reaching, charter.

Primary sourcesAdam Smith, The Wealth of NationsThe Theory of Moral Sentiments

Key stories

The Economics Inside a Single Pin

At the opening of The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith gives a famous example: making a pin. If one worker did it from start to finish, he could make only a few in a day; but if the work were split into a dozen steps — drawing the wire, cutting, sharpening, fitting the head — done by different workers in cooperation, output could soar hundreds of times over. With this tiny pin he made clear how the "division of labor" creates astonishing wealth — the secret of modern industrial efficiency hides in this plain example.

Relationships

Disciple
⚖️David Ricardo　Ricardo inherited and developed his classical economics📉Thomas Malthus　Malthus too belonged to the classical economics lineage

Echoes today

Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.

"The invisible hand" as a universal metaphor"The invisible hand" remains the universal metaphor for the market’s spontaneous self-regulation, seen across economics, policy, and everyday discussion; Adam Smith is also universally recognized as the founder of all of modern economics.

Appears in

The Birth of EconomicsAdam Smith’s Wealth of Nations: The Invisible Hand
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