アダム・スミス（1723–1790）は、スコットランドの道徳哲学者・政治経済学者で、スコットランド啓蒙を代表する思想家。グラスゴー大学で論理学と道徳哲学の教授を務めた。『道徳感情論』（原題 "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"）では、他者への共感と「公平な観察者」の視点から道徳と社会秩序が成立する仕組みを考察した。代表作『国富論』（原題 "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations"）では、分業による生産性の向上、自由な交換と競争の働きを分析するとともに、重商主義、独占、業者間の結託を批判し、近代経済学と政治経済学の基礎を築いた。
Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and political economist and a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. He served as Professor of Logic and later Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. In “The Theory of Moral Sentiments,” he examined how morality and social order arise through sympathy and the standpoint of the impartial spectator. His representative work, “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” analyzed the productivity gains created by the division of labor and the operation of exchange and competition, while criticizing mercantilism, monopoly, and collusion among merchants, thereby laying important foundations for modern economics and political economy.
