Adam Smith
Father of economics, The Wealth of Nations
Most quoted
"As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention."
— from The Wealth of Nations, 1776
"The sovereign has only three duties to attend to; three duties of great importance, indeed, but plain and intelligible to common understandings: first, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice; and, thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain."
— from The Wealth of Nations, 1776
"He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention."
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776
All quotes by Adam Smith (221)
The value of every commodity, therefore, to the person who possesses it, and who means not to use or consume it himself, but to exchange it for other commodities, is equal to the quantity of labour which it enables him to purchase or command.
The most important of all the branches of the police of a nation, is that which provides for the cheapness and plenty of the market.
The natural price, or the price of free competition, is the lowest which can be taken consistently with the nature of the commodity.
The expense of maintaining the sovereign, and all the other officers of government, is the first charge upon the revenue of every society, and must be defrayed out of it before any other expense can be defrayed.
The great body of the people are not only ignorant, but are also interested in being so.
The desire of food is by no means in general so strong as to make a man forget, for a moment, his regard to his own safety.
To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfish, and to indulge our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature.
The rich man glories in his riches, because he feels that they naturally draw upon him the attention of the world, and that mankind are disposed to go along with him in all those agreeable emotions with which the advantages of his situation naturally inspire him.
The chief part of human happiness arises from the consciousness of being beloved.
Man, an animal that makes bargains. No other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another.
The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their custom which hinders him from being negligent.
The desire of distinction, a passion which, next to the love of pleasure and the dread of pain, is the most powerful of all the passions of human nature.
The great secret of education is to direct the passions of the child to proper objects.
The love of praise and the dread of blame, are, if I am not mistaken, the sole springs which, in the great body of mankind, give activity to virtue.
It is not by augmenting the capital of the country, but by rendering a greater part of that capital active and productive than would otherwise be so, that the most judicious operations of banking can increase the industry of the country.
The natural price, or the price of free competition, is the lowest which can be taken, not upon every occasion indeed, but for any considerable time together, without actual loss.
Wherever there is great property, there is great inequality. For one very rich man, there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many.
The landlord, who draws his rent from the produce of the land, is interested in the prosperity of the society, without the smallest exertion of his own.
The causes of the improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the order according to which its produce is naturally distributed among the different ranks and conditions of men in the society, are the subject of the first book of this Inquiry.
The demand for those who live by wages, it is evident, cannot increase but in proportion to the increase of the funds which are destined for the payment of wages.
Contemporaries of Adam Smith
Other Economicss born within 50 years of Adam Smith (1723–1790).