CONCISENESS EXERCISE

Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics, proposed a theory in the eighteenth century that made him controversial since then. He was born in Scotland and educated in England. His first study of political economy "The weath of nations" was published in 1776, the same year that Americans declared his independence from England. His book pointed out the interdependence of freedom and order, and free trade laws. Although his thinking did not affect economic policies during his lifetime, its influence in the next century was considerable. Among economists `the invisible hand´ and `laissez-faire´ are Smith´s name synonymous. History has made his ideas more controversial because to conservative businesspeople he will be `a good man that understood how business works´ and to liberal reformers `an evil man that sold the average citizen down the river´. Both of these reactions are extreme and indicate that the controversy aroused by Smith´s ideas is still alive.