If economics had to field a candidate for the greatest economic thinker in history, it would be Adam Smith (1723–90), for no other economist has had a comparable impact. His career is easily summarised: student at Glasgow University, then at Oxford, lecturer in Edinburgh, professor at Glasgow, a major book, early retirement, a spell in France, a second book and a senior position in the Civil Service.
Adam Smith grew up in the Fife port of Kirkcaldy. His father, who died before his son was born, was a lawyer and customs official. Scotland was changing and the Smith family supported the changes. Relations with England had been fixed by the union of the parliaments in 1707. The new state of Great Britain was the biggest free-trade area in Europe, and Scotland had access to a large empire. Kirkcaldy facing Europe lost but Glasgow facing the USA did well, mainly in the tobacco trade. Who should rule this kingdom remained unsettled until 1746 when Bonnie Prince Charlie, heir to the Stuart line displaced in 1688, was defeated.
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