Adam Smith was born in Scotland. He attended the Balliol College at Oxford. After graduation, he was made the chair of moral philosophy at Glasgow University. Smith is often caricaturized as an economist who espoused total lassez faire, when in reality, this was not the case. He believed that the government has a role in society, though this role is very limited. Another aspect of Adam Smith that is overlooked today is his emphasis on the necessity of morality in a free market econ omy.
No systematic treatise explaining the economic order that was emerging during his time existed before his book,"An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations". It is this work that became the foundation from which Classical economics was developed.
Works by Adam Smith:
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