Adam Smith

Adam Smith (June 5, 1723 — July 17, 1790) was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and political economist who is best known as the author of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776).

Smith's economic theory reflected the historical conditions of the development of English and Scotland capitalism in the 18th century. Karl Marx characterized Smith as "a generalizing economist of the manufactural period". The influence of this "manufactural period" was reflected in the fact that Smith attributed the decisive role in the development of productive forces to the manufactural division of labor, considering the manufactory as a typical form of enterprise. Smith acted as an ideologist of the bourgeoisie in the period when it played a progressive role. Vladimir Lenin characterized Smith as "a great ideologist of the advanced bourgeoisie" . Smith was not a conscious defender of the bourgeoisie , but objectively, regardless of his subjective sympathies, he defended provisions corresponding to the requirements and interests of the development of the productive forces of capitalist society.

External links

• The Wealth of Nations at Marxists.org
• The Theory of Moral Sentiments at Marxists.org