Smith's intellectual interests were extensive. He wrote an important philosophical treatise, "The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)," and was well versed in science and history. He studied at Glasgow and Oxford universities, lectured at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1751, became a professor at Glasgow University. In 1764, he made a grand tour of the Continent as tutor to the young duke of Buccleuch.

Smith's major thesis in the Wealth of Nations was that, except for limited functions (defense, justice, certain public works), the state refrained from interfering with the economic life of a nation. Smith did not view favorably the motives of

merchants and businessmen. "People of the same trade," he wrote, "seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some

contrivance to raise prices." He suggested, however, th

Although Adam Smith is often thought of today as an economist, he was in fact (as his great contemporaries Hume, Burke, Kant, and Hegel recognized) an original and insightful thinker whose work covers an immense territory including moral philosophy, political economy, rhetorical theory, aesthetics, and jurisprudence. He laid the foundation for the capitalist, free market economy, and is one of the founders of modern day economics. Though his theories were formed more than two hundred years ago, they shape much of today's economic and political debate, especially current arguments regarding free trade.

Counter to the popular impression that Smith was a champion of selfishness and greed, Smith hoped to promote the welfare of society as a whole, and that he wrote the Wealth of Nations to warn of the dangers to the common good posed by organized mercantile interests. Contrary to those who believe that the naked pursuit of self-interest always leads to socially beneficial results, Smith maintained that government must intervene to counter act its negative effects. Smith's analysis went beyond economics to embrace a larger "civilizing project" designed to create a more decent society. The freedom made possible by a commercial society, Smith thought, would only be desirable when coupled with supporting institutions, including the law, family, and religion, which fostered the virtues of self-control and altruism that people need

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