Quotes by Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Scottish Economist

Lived from: 1723 - 1790

Category: Business and entrepreneurs Country: FlagUnited Kingdom

Born: 5 june 1723 Died: 17 july 1790

  • 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.

Quotes 1 till 20 of 37.

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  • What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?
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  • 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.
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  • All money is a matter of belief.
    Wealth of Nations (1776)
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Defense is superior to opulence.
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  • 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.
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  • Happiness never lays its finger on its pulse.
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  • Humanity is the virtue of a woman, generosity that of a man.
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  • I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.
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  • 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.
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  • 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. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Man is an animal that makes bargains; no other animal does this - one dog does not change a bone with another.
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  • Man, an animal that makes bargains.
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  • Mankind are animals that makes bargains, no other animal does this.
    Adam Smith
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  • No complaint... is more common than that of a scarcity of money.
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  • No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.
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  • On the road from the City of Skepticism, I had to pass through the Valley of Ambiguity.
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All Adam Smith famous quotes and sayings you will always find on greatest-quotations.com

Questions and Answers

What are the most famous quotes from Adam Smith?

The two most famous quotes from Adam Smith are:

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

When did Adam Smith live?

Adam Smith was born in 1723 and died in the year 1790.