Smith's largest work is briefly called. Adam Smith - short biography

Economic theory of Adam Smith

The teachings of Adam Smith can be very briefly described in two words: laisser faire, which translated from French means non-interference, non-resistance and even connivance. Smith's book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), explains the policy of laissez-faire.

If the economic activity of each person leads to the good of society, the main thing, Smith believes, is that this activity should not be constrained by anything (economic freedom).

1. Do not restrict labor mobility in any way - abolish the guild system with its mandatory apprenticeship and the law on settlements. The worker must freely choose where to use his only capital - labor power.

2. Complete freedom of trade - external and internal, abolition of state price regulation. Freedom to trade in land, so that the land passes into the hands of those who are inclined to put it into circulation. This system concerning trade was called free trade and became the policy of the English bourgeoisie.

3. Encouraging competition, prohibiting monopolies. Smith went so far on this issue that he suggested that even priests compete for more complete freedom of religion.

4. The wealth of society depends on two factors - on the productivity of labor and on the ratio between the number of those who are engaged in useful work and the number of those who are not engaged. To a greater extent, it depends on performance. In the introduction and outline of the essay, you will read how Smith explains using the examples of savage and civilized peoples. Smith goes a step further than the physiocrats and says that labor in industry, and not just in agriculture, creates value and is therefore productive. The deeper the division of labor, the higher the productivity and the larger the national product. Denying the influence of the state on the economy, Smith nevertheless talks about the negative consequences of the division of labor, when each worker is obliged to perform only one simple operation, which will lead to the degeneration of the bulk of the people if the government does not take care of it.

5. Money is recognized only as a “wheel of circulation,” and credit and, accordingly, interest on loans are needed only for the active use of capital.

6. The labor theory of value is developed and deepened by Adam Smith. Smith emphasizes that the cost of a good is the average social cost of labor, and not the specific cost of the producer. Smith characterizes the natural and market prices of goods. Natural is the value expressed in money, while market value is formed under the influence of supply and demand. There are at least three conflicting views on value. The first - as labor costs, the second - as the quantity of goods that can be purchased for a given product, and the third - i.e. only by expressing goods in each other and value as the sum of the capitalist’s expenses, including his profit and the worker’s salary, in some industries also land rent - it follows that each of the factors - labor, land and capital - participates in the creation of value and each has in it its part - rent, profit and wages, while value is created only by labor, and rent and profit are deductions from value.

7. The theory of wages is the cost of necessary means of subsistence, but realistic additions are already given. This is not just a physical minimum of funds, it depends on:

Place and time, historical and cultural level of development of the worker. (Pay in the North is higher, if only because we are forced to spend more on warm clothes and higher-calorie foods than, for example, in Africa).

The growth of wages is driven by the struggle of workers for its increase.

When there is economic progress in a society, the demand for labor increases, and in a market situation, the demand for goods increases their price.

8. Capital is the accumulated stock of tools, raw materials, means of subsistence and money. This can only happen to thrifty people close to asceticism. The main task for a capitalist is to accumulate capital, put it into circulation by giving work to hardworking people. The main task of the state is not to interfere with the capitalist’s accumulation of capital, but to help him in this by reducing the number of people engaged in unproductive labor - officials, the army, priests. Smith's "Investigations into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations."

Adam Smith Baptized and possibly born June 5 (16), 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, Kingdom of Great Britain - died July 17, 1790 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish economist, ethical philosopher; one of the founders of modern economic theory.

Adam Smith was born in June 1723 ( exact date his birth is unknown) and was baptized on June 5 in the town of Kirkcaldy in the Scottish county of Fife. His father, a customs official also named Adam Smith, died 2 months before his son was born. It is assumed that Adam was the only child in the family, since no records of his brothers and sisters have been found anywhere. At the age of 4, he was kidnapped by gypsies, but was quickly rescued by his uncle and returned to his mother. It is believed that Kirkcaldy was good school, and from childhood Adam was surrounded by books.

At the age of 14, he entered the University of Glasgow, where he studied ethical philosophy under Francis Hutcheson for two years. In his first year, he studied logic (this was a mandatory requirement), then moved to the class of moral philosophy; studied ancient languages (especially ancient Greek), mathematics and astronomy. Adam had a reputation for being strange - for example, among a noisy company he could suddenly think deeply - but smart person. In 1740 he entered Balliol College, Oxford, receiving a scholarship to continue his education, and graduated in 1746. Smith was critical of the quality of teaching at Oxford, writing in The Wealth of Nations that “at Oxford University the majority of the professors have for many years now given up even the appearance of teaching.” At the university, he was often sick, read a lot, but did not yet show interest in economics.

In the summer of 1746, after the uprising of Stuart supporters, he returned to Kirkcaldy, where he spent two years educating himself.

In 1748, Smith began lecturing at the University of Edinburgh - under the patronage of Lord Kames (Henry Hume), whom he met during one of his trips to Edinburgh. Initially these were lectures on English literature, later on natural law (which included jurisprudence, political doctrines, sociology and economics). It was the preparation of lectures for students at this university that became the impetus for Adam Smith to formulate his ideas about the problems of economics. He began to express the ideas of economic liberalism, presumably in 1750-1751.

Basis scientific theory Adam Smith had a desire to look at man from three sides: from the standpoint of morality and morality, from civil and state positions, from economic standpoints.

Adam lectured on rhetoric, the art of letter writing and later on the subject of "the acquisition of wealth", where he first expounded in detail the economic philosophy of "the obvious and simple system of natural liberty", which was reflected in his most famous work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations "

Around 1750, Adam Smith met someone who was almost a decade older than him. The similarity of their views, reflected in their writings on history, politics, philosophy, economics and religion, shows that together they formed an intellectual alliance that played an important role in the period of the so-called Scottish Enlightenment.

In 1751 Smith was appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow. Smith lectured on ethics, rhetoric, jurisprudence, and political economy. In 1759, Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments, based on his lectures. In this work, Smith analyzed the ethical standards of behavior that ensure social stability. At the same time, he actually opposed church morality, based on the fear of punishment after death and promises of paradise, proposed the “principle of sympathy” as the basis for moral assessments, according to which what is moral is that which evokes the approval of impartial and insightful observers, and also spoke out in favor of ethical equality people - the equal applicability of moral standards to all people.

Smith lived in Glasgow for 12 years, regularly leaving for 2-3 months in Edinburgh; here he was respected, made a circle of friends, and led the lifestyle of a club-going bachelor.

There is information that Adam Smith almost got married twice, in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, but for some reason this did not happen. Neither in the memoirs of his contemporaries, nor in his correspondence is there any evidence that this would seriously affect him. Smith lived with his mother (whom he outlived by 6 years) and his unmarried cousin (who died two years before him). One of the contemporaries who visited Smith's house recorded that national Scottish food was served in the house and Scottish customs were observed. Smith valued folk song, dance, and poetry, and one of his last book orders was several copies of the first published volume of poetry by Robert Burns (who himself held Smith in high esteem, and repeatedly referred to his work in his correspondence). Despite the fact that Scottish morality did not encourage the theater, Smith himself loved it, especially the French theater.

The source of information about the development of Smith's ideas comes from notes of Smith's lectures, presumably taken in 1762-63 by one of his students and found by the economist Edwan Cannan. According to the lectures, Smith's course in moral philosophy by that time was more of a course in sociology and political economy; materialistic ideas were expressed, as well as the beginnings of ideas that were developed in The Wealth of Nations. Other sources include drafts of the first chapters of Wealth found in the 1930s; they date from 1763. These sketches contain ideas about the role of the division of labor, the concept of productive and unproductive labor, and so on; mercantilism is criticized and the rationale for Laissez-faire is given.

In 1764-66, Smith lived in France, being the tutor of the Duke of Buccleuch. This mentoring greatly improved his situation: he had to receive not only a salary, but also a pension, which later allowed him not to return to Glasgow University and work on a book. In Paris, he attended the “mezzanine club” of François Quesnay, that is, he personally became acquainted with the ideas of the physiocrats; however, according to evidence, at these meetings he listened more than he spoke. However, the scientist and writer Abbé Morellet said in his memoirs that Smith's talent was appreciated by Monsieur Turgot; he had numerous conversations with Smith about trade theory, banks, government credit, and other issues." large essay what he was planning." From the correspondence it is known that Smith also communicated with d’Alembert and Holbach, in addition, he was introduced into the salon of Madame Geoffrin, Mademoiselle Lespinasse, and visited Helvetius.

Before their trip to Paris (from December 1765 to October 1766), Smith and Buccleuch lived in Toulouse for a year and a half, and for several days in Geneva. Here Smith visited his Geneva estate.

The influence of the physiocrats on Smith is debatable; Dupont de Nemours believed that the main ideas of The Wealth of Nations had been borrowed, and therefore Professor Cannan's discovery of the Glasgow student's lectures was extremely important as proof that the main ideas had already been formed in Smith before the French trip.

After returning from France, Smith worked in London for six months as an unofficial expert to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and from the spring of 1767 he lived reclusively in Kirkcaldy for six years, working on a book. At the same time, he did not write the book himself, but dictated it to the secretary, after which he corrected and processed the manuscript and allowed it to be rewritten completely. He complained that the intense, monotonous work was undermining his health, and in 1773, when leaving for London, he even considered it necessary to formally transfer the rights to his literary inheritance to Hume. He himself believed that he was going to London with a finished manuscript, however, in fact, in London it took him more than two years to revise it, taking into account new statistical information and other publications. During the revision process, to make it easier to understand, he eliminated most of the references to the works of other authors.

Smith became world famous after publishing the book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. in 1776. This book analyzes in detail how an economy could operate in conditions of complete economic freedom and exposes everything that prevents this. The book substantiates the concept of laissez-faire (the principle of freedom of economic development), shows the socially useful role of individual egoism, emphasizes special meaning division of labor and the vastness of the market for the growth of labor productivity and national welfare. The Wealth of Nations discovered economics as a science based on the doctrine of free enterprise.

In 1778 Smith was appointed one of the five Commissioners of Customs for Scotland at Edinburgh. Having a very high salary for those times of 600 pounds sterling, he continued to lead a modest lifestyle and spent money on charity; the only valuable thing left after him was the library collected during his life. He took his service seriously, which made it difficult scientific activity; initially, however, he planned to write a third book, general history culture and science. After his death, what the author had saved the day before was published - notes on the history of astronomy and philosophy, as well as the fine arts. The rest of Smith's archive was burned at his request. During Smith's lifetime, The Theory of Moral Sentiments was published 6 times, and The Wealth of Nations 5 times; The third edition of “Wealth” was significantly expanded, including the chapter “Conclusion on the mercantilistic system.” In Edinburgh, Smith had his own club, on Sundays he hosted dinners for friends, and visited, among others, Princess Vorontsova-Dashkova. Smith died in Edinburgh after long illness intestines July 17, 1790.

Adam Smith was slightly above average height; had regular facial features, blue-gray eyes, a large straight nose and an upright figure. He dressed modestly, wore a wig, loved to walk with a bamboo cane on his shoulder, and sometimes talked to himself.

The main works of Adam Smith:

Lectures on Rhetoric and Letter Writing (1748)
Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
Lectures on Rhetoric and Letter Writing (1762-1763, published 1958)
Lectures on jurisprudence (1766)
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)
An Account of the Life and Works of David Hume (1777)
Thoughts on the state of competition with America (1778)
Essays on Philosophical Subjects (1785)
Double nesting system (1784)

Among economists and people close to this field, the name of Adam Smith is well known. And not without reason, because it was thanks to this man, who wrote many great works, that economic theory was founded as a science. And in general, scientific research of the eighteenth century is divided by many into those that appeared “before” and those that appeared “after” Adam Smith. What was unique about this man’s work, and about himself?

Early years

Incredible, but true: after almost three centuries, a high-quality biography of the outstanding scientist of the eighteenth century has not been written. Moreover, it is not even reliably known when exactly he was born. We can say for sure that it was 1723, it was June. But with numbers it’s more difficult. Some believe that the happy event in the Smith family occurred on the fifth of June (the sixteenth according to the new style), others think that on this day the baby was baptized. There is a third point of view - the fifth of June is both the birthday and the day of baptism of a newborn.

Be that as it may, the future luminary of the economy was born in Scotland, in the small town of Kirkcaldy, in the family of a lawyer and the daughter of a landowner. It is obvious that he was an only child; just two months after his birth, his father Adam died. The boy's mother, Margaret, was left alone with him. Perhaps it was precisely this fact - that he was raised by one mother, and they had an extremely close relationship in childhood - that contributed to the fact that in adulthood Smith adored his mother and retained the deepest affection for her.

Some sources mention fun fact from the childhood of Adam Smith: as if at the age of four the baby was stolen by gypsies. However, the boy did not have time to get scared, because he was quickly found by his own uncle and returned to the hands of his mother. Whether this story corresponds to reality is also unknown for certain, but what is absolutely certain is that Adam grew up as a rather quiet, sickly and weak child. Subsequently, legends will circulate about his absent-mindedness - he was absent-minded already in childhood. From an early age he loved to be alone - to think.

The school that the future scientist attended was considered very good, and Adam actually fell in love with both study and books. They surrounded him everywhere - perhaps this played a role in his subsequent development. As for study and diligence, it will suffice to say only that he excelled so much in Greek and Latin that at the age of fourteen young Adam was immediately accepted into the second year of Glasgow University without question.

Youth

At the University of Glasgow, Adam Smith became closely acquainted with the ethical foundations of philosophy, logic, ancient Greek, philosophy and mathematics. He spent three years in Glasgow, and in 1740 he received a scholarship among the best students and was sent to continue his studies at Oxford. Six years at this university gave Smith the right to later say that most of the faculty did not even maintain the appearance of teaching. From these words, his attitude towards studying at Oxford becomes obvious. It is for this reason that upon returning to Scotland, Adam spent two years self-educating, filling gaps in knowledge.

During his time at the university (even at two), Adam Smith was not yet interested in economics. The subject of his passion was moral philosophy, on which he studied mountains of literature. However, the young man generally read a lot. And he was also sick a lot and often - perhaps due to rejection of his location and longing for his beloved mother.

Start of studies and interest in economics

The nature of the character of Adam Smith (about whom will be discussed in more detail below) was such that when pursuing science, he could not help but become a lecturer. This happened in 1748 after completing a two-year self-educational course.

Smith received his first teaching experience in Edinburgh. A certain Lord Kames, an acquaintance of Smith, provided him with patronage - this is how the future scientist ended up at the University of Edinburgh, where he shared knowledge with students in several disciplines: English literature, law, political science, economics, sociology, rhetoric, the art of letter writing, achieving wealth (yes, yes, there was such a subject). There seemed to be no area where Smith was incompetent. His lectures, thanks to two of his students, have survived to this day.

Perhaps it was the work with Edinburgh students that served turning point in his fate, which forced Adam Smith to finally formulate everything that had long been wandering scatteredly in his head. It was then that he began to express his ideas regarding economic problems. The basis of Adam Smith's theory was the desire to see a person from three sides - moral, civil and state, as well as economic. Around the same years, the young scientist began to develop the ideas of economic liberalism.

Then came 1750 - the year of the meeting with David Hume, who played a significant role in the fate of Smith. For him, he was a colleague and senior comrade, with whom Smith wrote an impressive number of works, all thanks to the similarity of views on philosophy, economics, religion and politics. Their general work had a certain weight in their time. And just a year after meeting Hume, Smith found himself at the University of Glasgow - no longer as a student, but as a professor of logic. However, he did not stay in this position for long - only a few months, at the end of the same year he transferred to the department of moral philosophy, where he remained for thirteen years. During his time in Glasgow, Smith lectured on rhetoric, law, ethics and political economy. According to eyewitnesses, it was so exciting that all of Scotland and England flocked to listen to the now famous professor, who, in his own words, was in love with all sciences in general. However, there were different reviews about Adam Smith's teaching style. He read brilliantly, interestingly, but unevenly. He needed time to “swing up”: having ascended to the pulpit and seeing dozens of attentive eyes in front of him, the professor was timid, did not know what to say, and for the first minutes of the lecture he simply muttered something under his breath. But having discovered unflagging attention, I was inspired - and the lesson ended with such power, such pressure in the end, which no other teacher had. Smith was loved because he never read from a piece of paper - he always told it himself, and not tediously, like from a textbook, but with improvisation. This, perhaps, attracted the audience.

In 1758, Adam Smith became dean, and a year later, taking the course of his lectures as a basis, he published his first work - “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (a little more about it is said a little further). It was thanks to this work that the professor at the University of Glasgow became famous.

Later life

In 1764, the life of forty-year-old Smith came to a turning point. new milestone. As briefly mentioned above, Adam Smith's theory, which he expounded in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, brought him fame. His name became popular in many circles; Lord Townshend, the future Chancellor of the Exchequer, also became interested in the scientist. So much so that he invited Smith to accompany his stepson, the Duke of Buccleuch, on a trip to Europe. Not just like that, of course - the scientist was supposed to become a mentor to the young duke, in return he was offered an excellent salary, much more than he received at the university, all travel expenses were paid, and he was also given a unique opportunity to see Europe, which Adam Smith had long dreamed of. In general, he did not think for a long time - after leaving the University of Glasgow, he went to travel with young Buccleuch. It was on this journey that Smith began work on the main work of his life - research on the nature and wealth of nations. Adam Smith spent more than ten years on this research, however, we will return to this issue later.

During their journey, Buccleuch and Smith visited Toulouse, Geneva, and Paris. In general, the voyage lasted three years, and during this period Smith managed to make acquaintance with a huge number of people - including Voltaire. In 1767 he returned home to his mother. For the next six years he lived with her, working tirelessly on his most famous work, The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith was a versatile, multifaceted personality. And before talking about the ideas and works of the scientist, it is necessary to first understand what kind of person he was.

Adam Smith: economist and man

A person’s character says a lot about him professionally. Knowing the character traits of a particular person, you can form an idea of him as a specialist in his field.

Smith, for example, was absent-minded - this has already been mentioned above. So distracted that it became the talk of the town. They said that he was found wandering alone in the field and not even noticing where he was going; that he once fell into a leather tanning vat; that he could go out into the street in his dressing gown and walk aimlessly around the city; that, having forgotten who he was at home, he could speak indelicately about this person; that he put almost a whole bowl of sugar in his tea... In general, his absent-mindedness was legendary, and all because Smith spent his days thinking. He nurtured his thoughts and ideas, argued with himself, reflected on topics that worried him. All this was later reflected in the works of Adam Smith.

Smith was not very handsome. Of medium height, straight, with a huge nose and blue-gray eyes, he wore a wig, leaned on a bamboo cane (or carried it on his shoulder), and dressed so as not to attract unnecessary attention to his person. This man was modest and even shy at times, awkward and delicate.

It is not known for sure whether he had a fiancee or even love. Some claim that he died without ever knowing physical intimacy, others claim that he almost got married twice, but it didn’t work out. Be that as it may, Smith lived with his mother and cousin, who also did not have a husband. They followed Scottish traditions in their home and loved to eat national dishes. As for Adam Smith's hobbies besides science, it is known that he loved songs, dances, French theater and poetry - for example, Robert Burns.

Economist's ideas

Economics, philosophy, and other disciplines, of course, existed before Smith. However, it was he, as his contemporaries and followers later claimed, who became the one who clearly outlined the basis of science.

The central idea of Adam Smith's teachings boiled down to the following: the main problem of economic science is economic development society and its well-being. In order for society to have this prosperity, according to Smith, the most important thing is that there must be work. It is he who is the essence of well-being - in other words, wealth.

In the scientist’s methodology, a global place is given to the concept of economic liberalism. Smith believed that only when private interests are placed above public interests can we talk about a beneficial effect on the economy. In this regard, he introduced such concepts as “economic man” (that is, an egoist who, in order to satisfy his interests and/or desires, satisfies the interests of others, thus achieving his goal through a transaction with other people’s egoism) and “invisible hand" ( we're talking about here about the presence of free competition and solving common problems through private interests). Also, one of the main ideas of Adam Smith was the idea that economic laws function in any civilized society. And for them to function there must be free competition - and this brings us back to the concept of the “invisible hand”.

In the science of Adam Smith, a special place is given to the concept of “natural order”, with which the scientist characterizes market relations. To this order could exist, a “system of natural freedom” is necessary, again based on nothing other than private property. The state hinders the development of the economy - this is the author’s thesis.

It is impossible not to mention another concept of Adam Smith - the theory of absolute advantage. This idea is that each specific country specializes in something of its own, one thing, specific. Thus, country A has an absolute advantage in creating, for example, pillows, and country B has an absolute advantage in producing fountain pens. And then country A has no need to puff up and try to do what it cannot do - that is, a fountain pen. It is easier for her to purchase them from country B, a specialist in this field. And vice versa. In order to understand whether there are absolute advantages, you need to compare the production of the same service/same product in different countries.

First job

Adam Smith's first publication was The Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759. It brought fame to its author, who discussed what it is human relations, how and from what they are built and what allows society to remain united, no matter what. This is not a tutorial on the rules of good manners, but a kind of textbook on how to remain a person among people. Adam Smith's message in this book is simple: everyone should be ethically equal.

Main work

The work that truly glorified Adam Smith, the most famous and popular, is the work that the scientist wrote for more than ten years. He began making sketches back in sixty-four, during a trip to Toulouse, and finished only in seventy-six. We are, of course, talking about Adam Smith's enormous work - The Wealth of Nations.

Smith made the very first attempts to outline the ideas for the future publication back in sixty-three, at least this is evidenced by notes found in the mid-thirties of the last century. They outline the essence of such concepts and problems as division of labor, mercantilism, and so on. The book, which finally went into print, talks about the possibilities of the economy in conditions of economic freedom. Smith openly names everything that, in his opinion, prevents the solution this question. In his study on the causes of the wealth of nations, Adam Smith also argues that for high productivity of labor it is necessary to divide it, in addition, he emphasizes the importance of a large assortment in the market.

Upon returning from the tour, Adam Smith continued to write the book “The Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations,” which he began during the trip, in the most native and peaceful place - at home, next to his mother. For six years he worked in silence and solitude - and most of the work was completed. It took another three years to bring everything to fruition. This is how the work that brought world fame to Adam Smith was born - “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” It was first published in London, and during Smith's lifetime it was reprinted five times and translated into various languages.

Other works by Smith

Unfortunately, the great scientist never wrote anything else outstanding. I dreamed of creating a work on jurisprudence, but did not have time. He published only his lectures on rhetoric and letter writing, and on jurisprudence; released a couple of essays and a message about life and scientific works his friend David Hume. Recent years throughout his life, Smith was seriously ill, perhaps his health was not in the best possible way affected the creative ideas of the economist. His last work was an essay on philosophy, published in 1785.

Last years of life

Since 1778, Adam Smith was one of his country's customs commissioners. He lived modestly, investing only in books and participating in charity. As mentioned above, he was seriously ill - he suffered from intestinal problems, which is why he died in July 1790. After his death, he bequeathed the destruction of his archive - this was carried out with precision. However, after Smith’s death, his notes on astronomy, philosophy and the fine arts, which could not be published during the author’s lifetime, were published.

The life of Adam Smith is the clearest example of the life of a true thinker, scientist, genius, who laid down his life in the name of science. And it’s even more gratifying that all this was not in vain.

Adam Smith was born in the summer of 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. Only the date when he was baptized in a local church is known for certain: June 5. The child's father died before his son was born, and therefore the upbringing of the boy fell entirely on the mother's shoulders. When Adam was four years old, he was kidnapped by gypsies, but the entire area rose up, and a detachment led by the boy’s uncle returned the child to his mother. Despite poor health, Adam learned to read early, and his mother made sure that the boy received good primary education.

At the age of fourteen, Adam Smith went to Glasgow and entered the university. Here he studied the basics of philosophy for two years with the famous teacher of the time, Francis Hutchison. Very many bright personalities of that time were brought up on the brilliant lectures of this professor, and his special merit is that he was the first at the University of Glasgow to begin giving lectures in a common language, understandable to everyone, and not in Latin.

Two years later, Adam Smith received a Master of Arts degree and was awarded a scholarship for his academic success. further education. Adam chose Oxford as his place of study and became a student at Balliol College. Adam Smith later called his six years of study at Oxford the most mediocre and unhappy years of his life. The fact is that the British treated the Scots without much warmth, and even teachers considered it possible to mock people from the provinces. If it were not for Adam's stubborn character and his independent studies, he would have learned little from the walls of Oxford. By the way, he left there without receiving the required diploma.

Returning to Scotland, Adam Smith changed his mind about becoming a priest and decided to earn a living literary activity. He prepared and delivered public lectures in Edinburgh on jurisprudence, belles lettres and rhetoric. These lectures brought Adam Smith a certain fame and even official recognition: he was invited to teach at the University of Glasgow and in 1751 became a professor of logic, and a year later - a professor of moral philosophy. Adam Smith himself did not strive for titles and greatness. He was alien to political and secular ambitions and believed that happiness in no way could depend on a person’s social position, and only a job he loved could bring true joy. good health and peace of mind. By the way, apart from his mother and cousin, Adam Smith never had a family. Apparently, the reason for this was that even in his youth he suffered a serious disappointment, which forever turned him away from thoughts of marriage.

Adam Smith's lectures were extremely popular. He developed an entire course that included ethics, theology, history, politics and jurisprudence. In order to hear the famous lecturer, people came from the most remote places. It was also important that Adam Smith’s lectures were obligatory and extremely hotly discussed in all literary societies and clubs in Glasgow. The listeners not only repeated Smith’s expressions word for word, they even tried to imitate his movements and manner of speaking, considering this a special persuasive factor. Meanwhile, Adam Smith was very far from the image of an experienced and eloquent speaker. His diction was not distinct, his voice was excessively harsh, and at times the lecturer almost stuttered. His notorious absent-mindedness was also a topic of conversation. Often those around him noticed that Adam spoke quietly in the absence of an interlocutor, and even contradicted himself, and a slight smile wandered on his face.

In 1752, Adam Smith met and became friends with David Hume, a Scottish philosopher and historian who, moreover, had the reputation of a major economist. These two men were similar in many ways - both were enthusiastic students of political economy and ethics, both had own view to the surrounding reality, both were distinguished by an inquisitive mindset. They learned a lot from each other, and Adam Smith developed some of Hume's brilliant ideas and thoughts in his works.

The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith's first work, was published in 1759. This work brought Smith wide fame, as it actually explored human psychology in society and determined the need to follow moral principles. It should be noted that “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” was one of the most striking works concerning ethics of the 18th century. In his book, Smith developed and continued the ideas of Shaftesberry and Hume, but at the same time developed a completely new system ethics, which represented a new level relative to the systems of his predecessors.

Adam Smith's popularity grew so much that the Duke of Bucclei, going on a trip to Europe with his family, invited the philosopher to accompany him. Perhaps Adam Smith would have refused this offer, but the Duke put forward a very compelling argument - he offered the professor a lifelong pension of three hundred pounds every year. The money was large enough and allowed Adam Smith to no longer worry about his livelihood, concentrating his energy on writing new books.

Adam Smith's journey with the Duke of Bucclei began in 1764 and lasted just under three years, passing through cities in France and Italy. In Paris, Adam Smith was able to make close acquaintances with many outstanding writers and philosophers of that era. He talked with Helvetius and D'Alembert, but, according to him, he had especially important conversations with the brilliant economist and future controller of the finances of France - Turgot. Smith didn't know very well French, but this did not prevent long conversations about political economy and free trade. In addition, they both agreed on many points of view - for example, they believed that intervention state system into the economy should be limited.

Returning to Scotland, Adam Smith began to live alone in his parents' house, devoting all his time to the main book of his life. Adam Smith spent ten years in almost complete isolation from people, arguing in letters to Hume that calm reflections advanced him in his work much more than idle interlocutors. In 1776, Adam Smith’s book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” was published, in which he brilliantly combined abstract theory with a detailed description of production and trade and the features of their development. With this work, Adam Smith is generally recognized to have actually created new science about the relationship between people, state and production - political economy. This work consists of five books. The first and second books are an outline of theoretical economics. The third and fourth are devoted to the history of economic views associated with European economic history after the fall of Rome. In the fifth book, Smith identified the connections between financial science and management science. The basic idea, which the economist so brilliantly proved, is that human labor is a factor and source of universal wealth. Adam Smith also came to the conclusion that the most important engine of economic progress is the division of labor. The most important thing for Adam Smith’s contemporaries was that in his work he described the contemporary economic system and showed its unsuitability for new economic conditions. Adam Smith's ideas actually stood up for the defense of the emerging bourgeoisie and served it, although the economist himself was very far from defending the interests of landowners, the bourgeoisie or aristocrats.

In 1778, Adam Smith was offered a position on the Scottish Customs Board. He agreed and moved to Edinburgh for permanent place residence. Now his visits to London were always accompanied by lectures on economics, which the public perceived as revelations and greeted with admiration. One of Adam Smith's enthusiastic admirers was William Pitt Jr., the future Prime Minister of England, who later tried to implement the basic principles of Adam Smith's economics in practice. The prime minister had a lot of time to study the famous book - after all, when he became familiar with this work, he was only eighteen years old.

In 1787, Adam Smith was elected rector of the University of Glasgow. In the same year he last time came to London to take part in a traditional dinner famous politicians England. Adam Smith was late for this dinner, and when he entered the hall, everyone present rose to their feet. Embarrassed by this reception, the economist muttered: “Sit down, gentlemen!”, but he was told: “Under no circumstances!” We will remain standing until you, our teacher, sit down.” By the way, Adam Smith sincerely admired William Peat Jr., claiming that this man understood his ideas much better than their author himself.

Adam Smith never left Edinburgh again. His mother died soon after, and according to friends, Smith was completely disheartened by the loss. He became even more unsociable and also became very seriously ill. The great economist died on July 17, 1790. Before his death, he ordered the destruction of all his unfinished works, as if in once again reminding descendants of contempt for worldly vanity and vanity.

Plan
Introduction
1 Brief biography
2 Adam Smith's Ideas
3 Main works
4 Editions in Russian
References

Introduction

Adam Smith (eng. Adam Smith); baptized and possibly born June 5 (June 16), 1723, Kirkcaldy - July 17, 1790, Edinburgh) - Scottish economist, ethical philosopher; one of the founders of modern economic theory.

1. Brief biography

Adam Smith was born in June 1723 (the exact date of his birth is unknown) and baptized on June 5 in the town of Kirkcaldy in the Scottish county of Fife, in the family of a customs official. His father, also named Adam Smith, died 2 months before his son was born. At the age of 4, he was kidnapped by gypsies, but was quickly rescued by his uncle and returned to his mother. It is assumed that Adam was an only child in the family, since no records of his brothers and sisters have been found anywhere.

At the age of 14 he entered the University of Glasgow, where he studied the ethical foundations of philosophy under Francis Hutcheson for two years. In 1740 he entered Balliol College, Oxford, and graduated in 1746. Smith was critical of the quality of teaching at Oxford.

In 1748 Smith began lecturing in Edinburgh under the patronage of Lord Kames. It was the preparation of lectures for students at this university that became the impetus for Adam Smith to formulate his ideas about the problems of economics. The basis of Adam Smith's scientific theory was the desire to look at man from three sides:

from the standpoint of morality and morality,

from civil and government positions,

from an economic point of view.

Around 1750, Adam Smith met David Hume, who was almost a decade older than him. The similarity of their views, reflected in their writings on history, politics, philosophy, economics and religion, shows that together they formed an intellectual alliance that played an important role in the period of the so-called Scottish Enlightenment.

In 1751 Smith was appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow. Smith lectured on ethics, rhetoric, jurisprudence, and political economy. In 1759, Smith published an article incorporating material from his lectures. In this article, Smith discussed the standards of ethical behavior that keep society in a state of stability.

Smith gained fame after publishing the book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776.

In 1776, the scientist moved to London, where he published “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” This book describes in detail the consequences of economic freedom. The book includes discussions of concepts such as laissez-faire, the role of selfishness, the division of labor, the functions of the market, and the international significance of a free economy. The Wealth of Nations discovered economics as a science, launching the doctrine of free enterprise.

In 1778, Smith was appointed head of the customs office in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he died after a long illness on July 17, 1790.

2. Adam Smith's ideas

Development industrial production in the 18th century led to an increase in the social division of labor, which required an increase in the role of trade and money circulation. The emerging practice came into conflict with the prevailing ideas and traditions in the economic sphere. There was a need to review existing economic theories. Smith's materialism allowed him to formulate the idea of the objectivity of economic laws.

Smith laid out a logical system that explained how the free market works based on internal economic mechanisms, rather than external ones. political management. This approach is still the basis of economic education.

Smith formulated the concept of " economic man" and "natural order". Smith believed that man is the basis of all society, and studied human behavior with its motives and desire for personal gain. The natural order in Smith's view is market relations in which each person bases his behavior on personal and selfish interests, the sum of which forms the interests of society. In Smith's view, this order ensures wealth, well-being and development of both the individual and society as a whole.

The existence of a natural order requires a “system of natural liberty,” the basis of which Smith saw in private property.

Smith's most famous aphorism is the "invisible hand of the market" - a phrase he used to demonstrate the autonomy and self-sufficiency of a system based on selfishness, which acts as an effective lever in the allocation of resources. Its essence is that one’s own benefit is achievable only through satisfying someone else’s needs. Thus, the market “pushes” producers to realize the interests of other people, and together to increase the wealth of the entire society. At the same time, resources are influenced by “ signaling system» profits move through the system of supply and demand to those areas where their use is most effective.

3. Basic work

Lectures on Rhetoric and Letter Writing (1748)

The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)

Lectures on Rhetoric and Letter Writing (1762-1763, published 1958)

Lectures on Jurisprudence (1766)

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)

An Account of the Life and Works of David Hume (1777)

Thoughts on the State of Competition with America (1778)

Essays on Philosophical Subjects (1785)

4. Editions in Russian

Smith A. A study of the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. - M.: Eksmo, 2007. - (Series: Anthology of Economic Thought) - 960 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-18389-0.

Smith A. Theory of moral feelings. - M.: Republic, 1997. - (Series: Library of Ethical Thought). - 352 s. - ISBN 5-250-02564-1.

References:

Bussing-Burks 2003, pp. 38–39

Bussing-Burks 2003, p. 39
Bussing-Burks 2003, p. 41
Buchholz 1999, p. 12
G. A. Shmarlovskaya and others. History of economic doctrines. Tutorial for universities. - 5. - Minsk: New knowledge, 2006. - P. 59-61. - 340 s. - (Economic education). - 2010 copies - ISBN 985-475-207-0