Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. It earned him an enormous reputation and would become one of the most influential works on economics ever published. Smith is widely cited as the father of modern economics and capitalism. Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and the University of Oxford. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and during this time he wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day. Smith returned home and spent the next ten years writing The Wealth of Nations, publishing it in 1776. He died in 1790.
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"THERE IS A REASON WHY THIS IS A CONSIDERED A CLASSIC. SMITH GIVES AN INSIGHTFUL EXPLORATION OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY AND IT IS CONSIDERED A FOUNDATION OF HIS LATER WORKS SUCH AS THE WEALTH OF NATIONS. THERE WAS A LOT TO THINK ABOUT AND A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HUMAN NATURE. IT IS VERY ACCESSIBLE AS A CLASSIC IN PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE AND WORTH READING. THERE WERE PORTIONS THAT I WOULD STOP AND REPLAY. ITS ONLY FLAW IS PERHAPS LIKE MANY CLASSICS IT IS A LITTLE LONG FOR THE MODERN READER. THE NARRATION WAS A GOOD QUALITY."
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