Ideologies / Classical Liberal / Adam Smith
§ The minds · 1723–1790 · Scotland · Moral philosopher & economist
Adam Smith
The invisible hand
Free exchange, limited government, moral sympathy.
Economic+50
SocialistMarket
Governance−45
LibertarianAuthoritarian
Social+10
TraditionalProgressive
The Scottish philosopher whose 'Wealth of Nations' argued that free exchange under limited government, not state direction, produces prosperity.
social
Enlightenment humanist; sympathy and natural liberty as the moral basis of society.
economic
Founded classical economics — markets and the division of labour create the wealth of nations.
governance
Distrusted concentrated power and mercantile privilege; a limited, impartial state.
Notable for
- 'The Wealth of Nations' (1776)
- 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments'
- Founded classical economics
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