Overview
From his favorite spot on a hill overlooking a bay in Scotland in 1730, the boy Adam smith watched ships arrive from foreign countries to trade cloth and scrap iron for salt and nails. But some of the trade he observed was illegal. The Government permitted foreign countries to buy Scottish products, but did not allow Scots to reciprocate and buy many exported products. As a student and later a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow, Smith decided that such laws prohibiting free trade between people were wrong.
At a time when kings and queens believed that allowing free trade between people caused chaos, and people needed government to protect them, wrote on the importance of individual freedom and trade for promoting social harmony. Based on his influential writings about the importance of free trade in making people and nations wealthier, the humble Scotsman is recognized as the founding father of economics.
Synopsis
From his favorite spot on a hill overlooking a bay in Scotland in 1730, the boy Adam smith watched ships arrive from foreign countries to trade cloth and scrap iron for salt and nails. But some of the trade he observed was illegal. The Government permitted foreign countries to buy Scottish products, but did not allow Scots to reciprocate and buy many exported products. As a student and later a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow, Smith decided that such laws prohibiting free trade between people were wrong.
At a time when kings and queens believed that allowing free trade between people caused chaos, and people needed government to protect them, wrote on the importance of individual freedom and trade for promoting social harmony. Based on his influential writings about the importance of free trade in making people and nations wealthier, the humble Scotsman is recognized as the founding father of economics.
Children's Literature
One of four in the "Profiles in Economics" series, this well researched but tedious introduction into the life and times of Adam Smith details his every move from birth to death. Smith, the father of modern economics, was born in Scotland and eventually became known as part of the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. The Age of Enlightenment was a movement away from the power of the Church and royalty over the lives of ordinary people to one that gave freedom to the common man to live and prosper through self determination. The ten chapters in the book include: "The Young Smith, College Years, To Oxford and the Ministry, Scholarly Beginnings, The Theory of Moral Sentiments" and "The Wealth of Nations," for example. The discussions are in such detail with so many individuals and seemingly irrelevant material included that it seems overwhelming even for a high school student. Color illustrations, some of the period, are included. A time line for Adam Smith is included but also including a time line for the social/political events of this period could have helped students make sense of all the detail. A bibliography, index and sources for further study are included, as well. Reviewer: Meredith Kiger, Ph.D.