It’s Not Easy, but We Can All Learn to Think Like Adam Smith

Lessons from the 18th century.

Adam Smith, a posthumous portrait by an unknown artist. Public Domain

Commentary

When the disciplines of economics and sociology were being invented in Britain 250 years ago, their progenitors such as Adam Smith, David Hume, Adam Ferguson, and others were preoccupied with how vibrant commercial activity and human behavior were related. Economic dynamism was not only about economic growth, money, and the division of labour, though it was that, too. It was about how and why individuals make commerce succeed.