Adam Smith was a Scottish economist, philosopher, an explorer of a political figure, and a key personality during the Scottish Enlightenment. He is also known as the "The Father of Economics."
He was the son of the second marriage of Adam at Kirkcaldy near Edinburgh. Nothing much is known about his childhood other than he received his elementary at Kirkcaldy. It is believed that at the age of four, he was carried off by gypsies. Young Adam was abandoned by his captors.
At the age of 14, he entered the University of Glasgow. Here he was deeply inspired by Francis Hutcheson, a professor who played a major role in shaping his development. Later he won a scholarship in 1740 and traveled back to Oxford. At Oxford, he spent his years mostly on self-education, from which he obtained deep knowledge of both classical and contemporary philosophy.
With his maternal family's connection, he got a chance to give a chain of public lectures in Edinburgh. The lectures ranged over a variety of topics which made an impression on his contemporaries. Later he was appointed as a professor of Logic at Glasgow in 1751 at the age of 27. Later on, he was transferred as the professor of moral philosophy with better remuneration in 1752.
Smith did write two classic works, "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" and "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." His Wealth of Nations is considered the first modern work in economics. In his work, he did introduce his theory of Absolute Advantage. He was always criticized for his views on the economy.
He was an embodiment of enlightenment. He was a realistic and practical person who was always respectful of the past but eventually dedicated his whole life to some of the greatest discoveries.
Following are some of the famous Adam Smith Quotes on Economics, Liberalism, Capitalism and Money that you need to read now.
Every man lives by exchanging.
This is the famous quote from Wealth of Nations written by Adam Smith in 1776. The major theory behind his quote is to define the theory that drives capitalism. However, this quote can be applied in many different aspects of a business.
Every man on this earth lives by exchanging. He becomes a merchant in some measure. A person starts exchanging things and, in return, obtain what they need. This type of exchange is very common.
In this quote, Smith says that every person exchanges something or the other. Here, the word exchange means money. As he was an economist, his quotes mainly have money as a factor. Smith says that all of us do have a habit of interchange.
It appears evidently from experience, that man is, of all sorts of luggage, the most difficult to be transported.
We human beings are the most selfish creatures in this world. To satisfy our needs, we will even hurt people we love.
Smith says that a man is the most difficult one too as a man carries with himself baggage of his own emotion which weighs more than his weight. And from experience, he says that a man is the most complicated being.
From his own experience, he has understood that a man is a difficult possession as time goes by. And for him to be transported a difficult task as it involves emotions. Emotion is a strong feeling which is derived from his mood, relationships, or circumstances.
So, even though transporting is easy, but for humans, it is challenging.
All money is a matter of belief.
Money is surely a thing that has become a basic necessity in today's world. It has become a priority for which we live our life. It can also be defined as a thing that people use to buy goods or services.
Most of us wake up in the morning and go to work to earn money. Money has become a medium of exchange that helps us to buy things that we want and need. The most important factor that we often forget is time.
People should surely aspire to become wealthy. They should work hard and achieve their goals when possible. But it is necessary to understand the value of money. When you think about the future, it is important to create financial stability. Aiming for wealth is great but understanding your duty to create stability is more important.
Overall it is quite simple, but the real question is whether you are willing to change your future.
It is not for its own sake that men desire money, but for the sake of what they can purchase with it.
Money is necessary to satisfy man's needs. It has become a necessity for which every person struggles all his life. It is something that is used to satisfy a person's need.
People earn money not only for their sake but for what money can buy. Money is something that can be used to purchase things for the ones they love. It is something a man fancy as they make a man happy.
Money is something that can bring a smile to your loved one's face. It is not a thing but an emotion or rather a feeling. It is something with which you can bring them the things they need, and indirectly it will make you smile.
The first thing you have to know is yourself. A man who knows himself can step outside himself and watch his reactions like an observer.
Knowing oneself is truly a strenuous one. To know yourself means to be aware of your emotions, desires, abilities, and much more.
To understand about yourself, you need to know first know about all your strengths and weaknesses. It is necessary to know about your dreams, limitations, and potential. You should know all your fears and all those moments which make you weak.
So, when you start to know yourself better than your shadow, step aside. Begin to watch yourself and learn how you react to certain situations in your life. Observe your life like a spectator and see the small changes in you.
Therefore, know yourself better than a viewer.
Continue reading some more Adam Smith Quotes...
The great affair, we always find, is to get money.
In this world, there is a lot of competition to survive. Only the ones who stay for a longer time learn to hold out.
Everyone wants to pull through this life. To endure this life, one needs to be patient. Situations may change, but the way you react is what changes your destiny. To live, we need to earn money, and for that, we need to be strong.
To make money, you need to work hard. You have to put your heart into it. If you work hard, you will earn more, and if you start being lenient, it will affect you. Your progress will be down, and then money will leave you. And all this seems like an affair and that too with cash where money holds the upper hand.
Therefore, do not ignore money as one day it will too turn its back on you.
Never complain of that of which it is at all times in your power to rid yourself.
We humans have a habit of complaining about everything in our life. To complain means to be not satisfied or happy about things in life. It brings discontent in our life, and we start to whine about every little thing.
Smith says that before protesting about things, learn what went wrong. Look at the problems as a challenge to understand what needs to be done. Learn to solve all your problems as no problem is big until you make it.
Do not start complaining once you do not get hold of things. Instead, try to look for answers, and if still, you cannot, then take the help of others. Get rid of those problems which you can rather than grumble.
So, start solving rather than making a fuss about every single thing.
When our passive feelings are almost always so sordid and so selfish, how comes it that our active principles should often be so generous and so noble?
To be passive about something is to be accepting the things as they are with any response or reaction. It means to let things happen without taking action against it. It always involves things like listening, watching, or looking at things rather than doing them.
Smith says when our feelings are submissive like all those dishonorable or immoral actions, we become self-centric. Rather our passive feelings are always vile and egoistic. And if it is the case with passive feeling, then what do we accept from our frisky ones.
If we are selfish and self-obsessed, then how can one expect to be liberal and gentle? As to be liberal and gentle, one needs to be openhearted and selfless. So, let us be kind so that you can be happy yourself.
Problems worthy of attacks, prove their worth by hitting back.
Problems are a matter or situation that are regarded as unhealthy and needs to be dealt with and to be something that needs to get over. In simple words, it is a situation that is difficult.
In our life, we face situations where we are in a pool of problems. At those times, you need to learn to be calm. Understand the issues and look at what you can do. Try to solve the difficulty as soon as you can.
If you start to solve your issues one by one, it becomes simple. It becomes a hurdle only when you start procrastinating your issues. When you start to run away from your troubles, it becomes complicated. You start to ignore the problems, and if they are capable of charging, it starts to hit you back. They start to prove their sincerity by creating a storm in your life.
Therefore, start addressing your problems, or they may strike you when you least expect it.
To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature.
To think about others is to put others before yourself. It is forgotten about all those personal gains we hope for when we help others. This act of kindness is a unique and difficult one to find.
Smith says nowadays, people have become so self-centered that they even forget about the one they care about. It is quite a task to feel for others when they are in a problem. To think about how they perceive things is not easy.
It is quite strenuous to stop being egoistic and to be kind-hearted. So, when you start being affectionate and selfless, you become a perfect human. And all this together adds up to perfect human nature.
Few more Adam Smith Quotes....
The learned ignore the evidence of their senses to preserve the coherence of the ideas of their imagination.
To ignore the evidence of our senses means to brush aside all the bad things that you hear and see. It might make you feel as if you are in a fantasy. You may feel as if it is an impossible task.
Smith says that experience sets aside all the negative influences that may disturb their life balance. This is an important technique to maintain your life. When they ignore all the cynical thoughts, they start to maintain the clarity of their ideas.
The things we imagine in our life are what turns into ideas. And those ideas then turn into a reality. So, learn to focus on all the positive things even though it may seem hard. And even if bad things still happen, you learn to tell yourself that it is not real and is all in your imagination.
The desire of being believed, the desire of persuading, of leading, and directing other people, seems to be one of the strongest of all our natural desires.
We human beings need constant attention, love, care, and understanding from our loved ones. The moment they start to feel alone, the entire attitude of the person starts to change.
Smith says that we people often yearn to be believed by others. When we say something to others, we need people to believe in us. It feels nice when we convince people to listen to us as we feel important. The feeling of guiding someone towards the right path makes us feel like a key person in their life.
All of these desires seem to be powerful than all our natural desires. This is because the feel of being helpful or a major person in other's life gives a new meaning to our own life.
Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely.
Desire means a feeling of longing for a person, object, or outcome. When a person wishes for something, they are excited about that thing or person and want to achieve those goals.
Smith says that a man naturally wants to be a lovely person. It means that the person not only wants to be loved but also be a good person. A man wants to be a person to be someone to be capable of being loved by someone.
We as a person want to be someone who others can love. As the feeling of being loved makes you the center of their world, which makes you the crucial one. So, be the person whom someone loves you.
It was not by gold or by silver, but by labor, that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased.
Gold and silver are commodities that can be bought once we earn enough. It is something which we can buy whenever we want. If we earn enough, then we can buy anything we want.
Smith says that it is not gold and silver which is important in our life. Yes, it is possible that with the help of both we sure can earn money for now. But the real question is how long we can survive with that.
But when we work hard and earn money, we feel good. The hard-earned money is what has value. And with that, we can surely buy all the world if we can. He says that only with efforts and hard work all the wealth in the world was bought. Therefore, learn to live your life with your own earned money.
Some more Adam Smith Quotes...
Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production.
To consume means to use or rather to buy goods or services. It means to satisfy human wants or their needs.
Consumption is the beginning of all effective human activities. When a man needs something in his life, he makes an effort to achieve it. And when you try, you get satisfaction. That slowly leads to consumption.
Smith says that consumption is the only end of all the problems. As the consumption increases, the reason why the things should be produced gets solved. Consumption leads to an increase in productivity and, in turn, helps to maintain the balance of the economy.
So, as far as things are consumed, the purpose of production is served.
Hatred and anger are the greatest poison to the happiness of a good mind.
To hate is to feel intense dislike for others. Feeling of hatred or intense dislike for someone may develop for various reasons. People may hate others when they envy or need what other person wants.
Anger is a strong feeling of being upset or irritated when something goes wrong or when bad things happen to you. It is a feeling which makes you want to hurt others. It is an emotional state that involves displeasure.
Both anger and hatred are something that changes a person. It makes a person think in a fit of rage or dislike. All the important decisions taken during this time are often incorrect. It takes away happiness, and insecurities start to take place in our minds. Slowly, it acts as toxic for all the joy we have in our life.
Virtue is excellence, something uncommonly great and beautiful, which rises far above what is vulgar and ordinary.
Virtue is the standard of being morally good. It can also be to help your friend when in need. It is a trait of being good and serves as the foundation of all the principles and ethics.
Smith says that integrity can sure be termed as excellence. It is not common in people as all of them live their life only to survive. Virtue is a process that is great and beautiful. It is something that is not easy as life is tough.
It is far above all the offensive and typical values a man has. It is difficult to find this quality in people. Therefore be virtuous enough to lead a life where you can communicate and understand better.
The furious behavior of an angry man is more likely to exasperate us against himself than against his enemies.
To be angry is to be furious. People who get angry have a short temper. And temper is generally a person's state of mind in terms of being angry or calm.
An angry person often expresses their angry verbally. They may shout, scream, pressurize with angry words and hurt someone with their words. People who hide their anger may self-harm when they are angry as they find it difficult to deal with anger.
An angry person is more likely to get infuriated with himself than his enemies. This is because when in anger, the person seems to get irritated with himself. Therefore, when in anger, try to calm and be composed.
There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.
This quote is a reply of Adam Smith when he heard the news of General Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga in late 1777. This is a quote which he meant to describe the political situation.
Smith said that political leaders take a nasty and unskillful approach to bring this powerful and strong state down. Smith gave this type of reply as he was less concerned at the hope of the government's defeat by the British colonists.
As long as it does not include the cost of maintaining the colonial monopolies and as long as it does not affect the economic growth, a defeat can be easily handled.
The real tragedy of poor is the poverty of their aspirations.
Aspiration is the hope or ambition to achieve something in their life. It is a strong desire to attain the goal they have set. We generally aspire to become something in which we are better or a thing that we understand in a better way. To aspire in life itself has a positive vibe.
Smith says that a poor person's setback is the lack of their desire. Only when a person yearns for something will he work for. When he has an objective in his life, he will be able to pull off the target set by him. He will work hard to fulfill his aim in his life.
The attitude to do something well is what makes a person a good one. The ability to set a purpose and later on plan things to give the purpose its meaning is what makes a person rich.
So, start realizing your dreams and make them big.
Live your life better than yesterday. Treat every moment as special as you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. And whenever life gives you a thousand reasons to cry, find those small moments where you can find joy. Also, if life becomes too predictable, then wouldn't it be too boring. So enjoy your life and keep gleaming with joy.
