Born June 5, 1723

Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Died July 17, 1790

Edinburgh, Scotland

Scottish economist, philosopher

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages."

Adam Smith is often regarded as providing the theoretical justification for the Industrial Revolution, a period of fast-paced economic change that began in Great Britain in the middle of the eighteenth century. His masterpiece, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (familiarly known by its abbreviated title The Wealth of Nations, 1776), was published just as the Industrial Revolution was gaining momentum in England. In it...