Adam Smith: The Grandfather Of Economics

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"It's 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." .... The quote is still so powerful ! If you stop for a moment and just try to comprehend how incredibly complicated the modern economic machine we have built , it almost feels unreal. That things work in this way in a massive dance of coordination between billions of people who don't know each other is frankly incredible to think about. It almost seems too complicated for humans to have built such a system ! ! ! Love your channel EE !! You are an inspiration !

I feel like a "last time I was this early" would just be a small brain move on this video...

He really used stock footage of a Jack Russel Terrier when he said “jack-of-all-trades”

For some reason my concentration span tenfolds when watching an Economics Explained video.

“The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.” –ADAM SMITH , SCOTTISH POLITICAL ECONOMIST (1723-1790)

I have his book called ‘The Wealth of Nations’. I didn’t realise it’s 1100 pages + until it got delivered lol. I’m scared to even start reading it

What amazes me about "Wealth Of Nations" is how well it's aged. I remember how, reading it as a teenager, it was easily understandable and relevant. Sure it misses a lot of the modern and more nuanced concepts, but for a basic understanding of how capitalism works it is still an excellent book.

The theory that industrialization is just the result of costs of opportunity "no farm land, let's do industries", it's extremely simplistic. The reasons for why the industrial revolution started in Britian are complex and many, like the existence of universities and a scientific mindset early on (the works of physics by Isaac Newtoon for example), the existence of a bank system who could offer cheap capital to entrepeunerships, the existence of roads and easy navigable rivers, political stability, the availabilty of cheap coal and wool to open industries, liberal scholars, etc... It also ignores the fact that profitable plantations can be really expensive and capital intesive in itself.

"Capitalism is democracy with dollars" Wow. Oversimplified, but soooo true. 👏👏👏 Big Bravo for EE.

"All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind." Adam smith also read his Plato and knew that when a corrupt oligarchy formed they would take everything, from private to public wealth, for themselves. He knew that if the free market is deregulated too far that it would also stop functioning properly as is happening today in the Western countries and that could lead to unrest, or revolution.

"Farming is easy" * nervous laughing in Dutch *

This is actually extremely helpful as I need to study all of this for my econ exams, thx for the vid mate!👏🏽

I thought he was the grandfather of capitalism not economics as a whole but I guess your video made a fair enough argument. Love your videos, keep up the awe-inspiring work

People today still don't understand the genius of Adam Smith's insights.

I am from Bolivia and here the academics still thinking in a mercantilism brain, this video goes directly to my best #1

The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith is probs in my top ten favorite books. I only read the Wealth of Nations because I had to for school so I didn't really end up with an emotional connection to it or anything.

I could have bet money that you'd do a video on Adam Smith eventually, nice job! :)

I actually read WON, and this quote floored me (something for the hardcore to think about): "Whenever the legislature attempts to regulate the differences between masters and their workmen, its counsellors are always the masters. When the regulation, therefore, is in favour of the workmen, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favour of the masters."

I have so much respect for sir Adam Smith. I have read a short book on the wealth of nations. Before reading, I also believed that wealth is a zero-sum game. This book is worth reading time on time.