Beginning of Essay
Often called the founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, June 5, 1723, was a wide-ranging social philosopher and economist whose masterwork, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776), is one of the most i ....

Middle of Essay
.... meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." He suggested, however, that businessmen seeking their own interest are led "as if by an invisible hand" to promote the well-being of society. Smith's Analysis of Economic Systems This position is supported in the Wealth of Nations by an elaborate analysis of how economic systems function and develop over time. Smith sought to show how competition in the market- place would lead businessmen to supply the goods consumers want, to produce these goods efficiently, and to charge only what they are ....