His economic theories, propagating free trade and keeping the market place free of governmental interference, are still guiding nations across the globe and spreading economic liberalisation in most countries of the world.

Adam Smith’s fundamental proposition was that a free market is a self-regulating mechanism and tends to produce the most desirable types and quantities of goods.

Adam Smith’s most famous and frequently quoted lines are: “Every individual endeavours to employ his capital so that his produce may be of greatest value…he intends only his own security, only his own gain…By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it.”

This in essence sums up the secret of success of Capitalism.

Adam Smith was born on June 1723.

He studied in Glasgow University, where in 1751 he became professor of logic and later of moral philosophy.

In 1863, he became a tutor to Duke of Buccleuch.

He published his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations, in 1776. In 1778, he became Commissioner of Customs in Scotland and lived in Edinburgh till his death on July 17, 1790.

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