Net exemplaar met gebruikssporen aan het stofomslag.

The author of “Wealth of Nations”, Adam Smith, a political economist and moral philosopher, was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, June 5, 1723. When he was fourteen he was sent to the University of Glasgow, where he studied under Francis Hutcheson. In 1740 he went to Oxford where he was Snell exhibitioner at Balliol College where he worked until 1746. After leaving Oxford, Adam Smith gave lectures on English Literature and Economics and in 1751 became Professor of Logic at Glasgow, and in 1752 Professor of Moral Philosophy. His reputation increased rapidly with his publication in 1759 of the “Theory of the Moral Sentiments”. This notoriety won him the appointment as tutor to the third Duke of Buccleuch. This opportunity allowed him to spend three years in France where he made the acquaintance of many of that country’s intellectual leaders.

Adam Smith returned to Kirkcaldy and London in 1766 and began his work on “The Wealth of Nations, which he completed in 1776. The work contains five books on Political Economy and saw immediate success, and in a few years had taken an authoritative place with both philosophers and men of affairs. “Wealth of Nations” was judged to be a new science. With many volumes of historical knowledge and its principles, were assembled by Adam Smith with amazing common sense and ingenuity. Withstanding two centuries of doubt and speculation, criticism and new facts and experiences, “Wealth of Nations” is still recognized today as the best explanation and defense of the principles of the science of economics.

Adam Smith’s conclusions differed with the previous economic thought. Smith believed, “Man’s self-interest is God’s providence.” He held the belief that, If government abstained from interfering with free competition, industrial problems would work themselves out and the practical maximum efficiency would be gained. He applied this same doctrine to international relations and it is the definitive argument for “free trade”.