Adam Smith (1721-90) is a thinker with a distinctive perspective on human behaviour and social institutions. He is best known as the author of the 'An Inquiry into the Nature' and 'Causes of the Wealth of Nations' (1776). Yet his work is name-checked more often than it is read and then typically...

Adam Smith (1721-90) is a thinker with a distinctive perspective on human behaviour and social institutions. Yet his work is name-checked more often than it is read and then typically it is of an uninformed nature; that he is an apologist for capitalism a forceful promoter of self-interest, a...

In 1776 Adam Smith (1723-90) wrote The Wealth of Nations, a book so foundational it has led to him being called the 'father of economics'. Today he is associated with the promotion of self-interest, a defence of greed and a criticism of any governmental 'interference' in market transactions...