Book description
Adam Smith's landmark treatise on the free market paved the way for
modern capitalism, arguing that competition is the engine of a
productive society, and that self-interest will eventually come to
enrich the whole community, as if by an 'invisible hand'. Throughout
history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the
way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate,
dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked
and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now
Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals
and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we
are. Adam Smith (1723 - 1790) was born in Glasgow and after being
educated in Glasgow and Oxford, he held a number of academic posts
before becoming tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch. This post took him
to France where he began writing his political treatise,
The Wealth of Nations
.
