Smith, Adam (1723–1790)

Background

Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. His father, the seaport community's Comptroller of Customs, died 6 months before he was born. Smith's mother, assisted by tutors and wealthy guardians, ensured that her only child received a classical English education that emphasized the virtues of hard work and self-control. He was prone to illnesses and suffered from hypochondria as an adolescent and adult.

At the age of 14, Smith entered the University of Glasgow and studied moral philosophy under the guidance of Francis Hutcheson. While living in Glasgow, he observed the negative impact of protectionist policies and the benefits of free trade with the Americas. At the age of 17, he received a scholarship to attend Balliol College, part of England's Oxford University system, where he studied for the next 6 years.

After graduating from Oxford, Smith became a tutor and gave public lectures on rhetoric, moral philosophy, and law in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. There he became lifelong friends with the controversial atheistic moral philosopher David Hume, who was 12 years older than Smith. Much of Smith's later work in ethics built off Hume's writings. Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith were central figures in the Scottish Enlightenment (1740–1800). These three creatively systematic Scottish social philosophers helped to construct the ethical foundation of political and economic liberty in Western civilization.