9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'

On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.

Economists these days are ten a penny. You can't open a web page, newspaper or turn on the TV or radio without one pontificating at you. Keynesians, Austrians, Marxists, Anarchists... there are as many different schools as there are days in the year.

In the 18th century, however, things were different. The dominant force was mercantilism. Trade was strictly controlled, with high tariffs and taxes. Wealth was measured in how big your pile of stuff was. The fiercest critic of this system was the man known as the “father of modern economics”, Adam Smith. And his hugely influential book, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was published on this day in 1776.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.