Adam Smith and David Ricardo
Adam Smith and David Ricardo, the “creators” of modern economy theory and their impact on the relationship of economics to the marketplace, international trade and comparative advantage and the role of government policy.
Adam Smith was born in Kircaldy in 1723. He was very smart and bright individual. At the age of 14 he went to study at Glaskow University. In extensive period of time he was awarded a Snell Scholarship which allowed him to study at Oxford University. It’s not that he did not like Oxford University at all but he was unhappy in comparison to Glaskow University. The reason why he did not like Oxford University was because they had much different way of education and a little antiquated curriculum. He was also complaining about the teachers, he said that they were very lazy in comparison to a Glaskow University. In Glaskow University the teachers were getting paid for each student in the classroom so that way they were giving more attention to the students, which is unlikely in Oxford University, because there, teachers were getting paid just for the semester and not for every student; therefore, students had lesser privilege of getting enough of attention during the sessions. In his career he had published a lot of books, but the two which stood out, were called “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” which appeared in 1759 and the second one “Wealth of Nations” which was published in 1776. In the book of “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” he has variety of discussions on ethics or another way known as moral philosophy, which involves systematizing – good system in order to be successful in life also defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. In his book of “Wealth of Nations” he talks about the economy at the beginning of Industrial Revolution and his argument is that free market economies are more productive and beneficial to the societies and that it is based on supply and demand with little or no government control.
Adam Smith was born in Kircaldy in 1723. He was very smart and bright individual. At the age of 14 he went to study at Glaskow University. In extensive period of time he was awarded a Snell Scholarship which allowed him to study at Oxford University. It’s not that he did not like Oxford University at all but he was unhappy in comparison to Glaskow University. The reason why he did not like Oxford University was because they had much different way of education and a little antiquated curriculum. He was also complaining about the teachers, he said that they were very lazy in comparison to a Glaskow University. In Glaskow University the teachers were getting paid for each student in the classroom so that way they were giving more attention to the students, which is unlikely in Oxford University, because there, teachers were getting paid just for the semester and not for every student; therefore, students had lesser privilege of getting enough of attention during the sessions. In his career he had published a lot of books, but the two which stood out, were called “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” which appeared in 1759 and the second one “Wealth of Nations” which was published in 1776. In the book of “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” he has variety of discussions on ethics or another way known as moral philosophy, which involves systematizing – good system in order to be successful in life also defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. In his book of “Wealth of Nations” he talks about the economy at the beginning of Industrial Revolution and his argument is that free market economies are more productive and beneficial to the societies and that it is based on supply and demand with little or no government control.
References: 1. "Adam Smith: The Father Of Economics." Investopedia. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. <http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/adam-smith-economics.asp>. 2. "Internet History Sourcebooks." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/ricardo-wages.asp>. 3. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. <http://myweb.liu.edu/~uroy/eco54/histlist/hist07.htm> 4. "Ricardo 's Theory of Comparative Advantage - International Trade." KALYAN CITY LIFE BLOG. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. <http://kalyan-city.blogspot.com/2011/02/ricardos-theory-of-comparative.html>. 5. "Adam Smith." : The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. <http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html>.