Adam Smith Quotes

Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher. He is considered one of the founding figures of modern economics and is best known for his book "The Wealth of Nations." Smith's ideas on free markets, division of labor, and the invisible hand have had a profound impact on economic theory and made him a highly influential figure in the field of economics.

Science is the great antidote to the poison of ent... -Adam Smith

Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.

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This quote portrays science as a remedy or antidote to the detrimental effects of excessive enthusiasm and superstition. It suggests that scientific knowledge and rational thinking can counteract misguided beliefs or unfounded claims, promoting a more informed worldview.

Resentment seems to have been given us by nature for a defense, and for a defense only! It is the safeguard of justice and the security of innocence.

This is one of those cases in which the imaginatio... -Adam Smith

This is one of those cases in which the imagination is baffled by the facts.

Labor was the first price, the original purchase -... -Adam Smith

Labor was the first price, the original purchase - money that was paid for all things.

With the greater part of rich people, the chief enjoyment of riches consists in the parade of riches.

The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of the... -Adam Smith

The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations.

The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence.

Great ambition, the desire of real superiority, of leading and directing, seems to be altogether peculiar to man, and speech is the great instrument of ambition.

No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.

No complaint... is more common than that of a scar... -Adam Smith

No complaint... is more common than that of a scarcity of money.

As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce.

The theory that can absorb the greatest number of facts, and persist in doing so, generation after generation, through all changes of opinion and detail, is the one that must rule all observation.

It is not by augmenting the capital of the country, but by rendering a greater part of that capital active and productive than would otherwise be so, that the most judicious operations of banking can increase the industry of the country.

Happiness never lays its finger on its pulse.... -Adam Smith

Happiness never lays its finger on its pulse.

Defense is superior to opulence.... -Adam Smith

Defense is superior to opulence.

All money is a matter of belief.... -Adam Smith

All money is a matter of belief.

Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another.

The propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals.

Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of things, than any whining Christian ever dyed with pretended resignation to the will of God.

Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.

Labour was the first price, the original purchase - money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all wealth of the world was originally purchased.

Adventure upon all the tickets in the lottery, and you lose for certain; and the greater the number of your tickets the nearer your approach to this certainty.

Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.

Humanity is the virtue of a woman, generosity that... -Adam Smith

Humanity is the virtue of a woman, generosity that of a man.

Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.

To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature.

On the road from the City of Skepticism, I had to ... -Adam Smith

On the road from the City of Skepticism, I had to pass through the Valley of Ambiguity.

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

I have never known much good done by those who aff... -Adam Smith

I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.

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