What was Adam Smith famous for?

Adam Smith is famous as a philosopher and economic theorist who proposed that states can create more wealth by not inhibiting trade and commerce. He is regarded as the father of liberal economics.

What is Adam Smith's theory?

Adam Smith proposed a labour theory of value, where something has two values: its use value and its exchange value. The exchange value is based on demand, but also the amount of labour needed to produce it and saved by owning it.

Did Adam Smith believe in laissez-faire economics?

Adam Smith would not have wholly agreed with laissez-faire economics. He did believe in minimising state intervention in trade and commerce but not abandoning these areas or labourers completely to the whims of free market forces.

Adam Smith Timeline

Definition

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and leading Enlightenment figure. In The Wealth of Nations, he advocates free trade and limited interference in markets by governments, for which he is seen as the founder of liberal economics. Regarded incorrectly as a champion of laissez-faire economics, Smith supported state intervention in important areas like the education of workers.

More about: Adam Smith

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1723 - 1790
Life of the philosopher and economist Adam Smith.
c. 5 Jun 1723
Adam Smith is born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
1740 - 1746
Adam Smith studies at Balliol College, Oxford.
1751
Adam Smith is appointed the Professor of Logic at the University of Glasgow.
1752 - 1764
Adam Smith is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow.
1759
Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments is published.
1766
Adam Smith acts as advisor to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1776
Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations is published.
1778
Adam Smith is appointed customs commissioner in Edinburgh.
17 Jul 1790
Adam Smith dies in Edinburgh.

Adam Smith

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