Adam Smith was a prominent Scottish economist and philosopher who played a central role in the Scottish Enlightenment. Often celebrated as the father of economics or the father of capitalism, he fundamentally shifted the study of political economy away from theological explanations toward a systematic analysis of natural, social, and technological interactions.
His intellectual legacy is anchored by two major works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter work established modern economic scholarship as an academic discipline and is particularly noted for its detailed exposition of absolute advantage, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the distribution of wealth and power.