ADAM SMITH Adam Smith is one of the greatest economists of the 8th century. He was born in Kircaldy in 1723, was a hard-working student and was fond of his mother. He then became a philosopher and economist who dealt with how it was possible to humanize the capitalist economy. He wanted to understand the money-based system, trying to make people happier His ideas can be summarized in 4 main points : I. Specialization : According to Adam Smith it is necessary to divide the work between each one carrying out his own task, so as to have a more profitable result. He realized, however, that there was a problem: many more employees means less collaboration and struggles between them. For the philosopher it is important then that the leaders remind employees of the dignity of their work and the importance of collaboration. II. Consumer capitalism – There were several ideas about luxury products, in fact Rousseau ( another philosopher contemporary to Smith) decided to ban them. Smith believed that they were a good thing, because he argued that luxury consumerism generated the surplus wealth by which it was possible to care for members in difficulty, for example by establishing hospitals. Smith’s hope was that through capitalism it would be possible to invest in positive values such as education and social improvement. III. How to treat the rich – According to the Christians it was right to make the rich feel guilty, while the left proposed to tax them. According to Smith, the rich didn’t care about the excess of money, but honor and respect. By giving them this it would be possible to make them invest in good deeds and make them pay well to employees. IV. Educate consumers – According to Smith it is not the fault of companies that there are negative repercussions, but it is our choices that affect the course of things. That is why it advocated the importance of a good society to educate its consumers. Smith was a great economist, because I try to reconcile human values with the needs of society and it is a question that still concerns us today. Its main objective was to develop a profitable and civil economy.
