Adam Smith

Adam Smith. Known for his works of "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" and "The Wealth of Nations". He helped change America's way of economic thinking along with the rest of the worlds; to boil him down to a crash course, we're going to focus on the four main ideas he is responsible for which bettered our way of thinking the long run:
1-Specialization: Modern businesses could make more profit if their workforces are divided and specialized into more little jobs for many people to excel in than one person taking a whole load of responsibilities. signs our world is so rich (example): when meeting a stranger at a party, chances are you won't understand that person's job title- logistic supply manager, packaging coordinator, communications and learning officer- all hard to understand, I know, but these mouthful titles are actually what make America so successful. Thanks, Smith.
The downsides?- people's meaning: small business= everything is available and understandable; large industrial businesses= people feel small and forget the value of their work because of the title they were given; absent- minded people fail to understand work, thus provoking yourself to question the value of your work
solution- authorities, bosses, and leaders of cooperations have a duty to their employees to validate their work and dignity, and remind them of their role and purpose of their work. sounds like snowflake garbage, but as wimpy as it sounds, happy workers, make the best effort.

2- Consumer capitalism: luxury consumerism is needed for a good society, and for us to flourish economically. having a form of ranks and classes seems unfair, but when taken into perspective with history, wealthy people will refuse to let their kin to decline and become poor, thus opening hospitals and education, benefiting everyone else around them. wealth allows societies to look after their weakest members. smith was behind the idea that consumer capitalism does more good for the poor than trying to equal everyone's rank and role to mediocracy.
capitalism is more than fulfilling our basic needs and buying things, but should also create money from goods and services that help with our individual fulfillment.
3- How to treat the rich: how you get the rich and wealthy to treat the rest of society well? keep the money and feed them the honor they want to gain. give a pretty person mirror so they can bug themselves instead of the people around them. Usually, the rich aren't greedy when it comes to money, but are instead obsessed with what others think of them (they want to be liked). So why tax them when you can give them a participation award? Doing this not only ensures their own happiness and garbage but subconsciously makes them concerned about good things a general narcissist wouldn't give a second glance to. (funding schools, hospitals, and treating workers with a decent amount of respect. Smith wisely said, "the great secret of education is to direct vanity to proper objects."
4- Educate consumers!: Big corporations are viewed as evil pits of money, who are trying to ruin our lives and take our money. These are obviously an issue, but however, we seem to gloss over the fact that we are one of the main reasons these issues are happening in the first place; the problem is with ourselves. companies are not the ones who corrupt and "destroy the world", but it is, in fact, our appetites of the world that will always crave something bigger and sweeter; businesses are merely giving us what we are asking (yet we somehow manage to throw such a fit about it). How can we fix this? By consumer education, of course! If we are taught to want better quality things and pay a respectable price for them, we are benefiting those genuine businesses along with ourselves. This is one of the reasons good capitalist societies offer you choices (like which laundry detergent you should purchase at Target) so that you are exercising your option of choice for judicious ways in the future. Smith found that it is indeed possible for capitalism to be saved by changing our thinking of the quality of the things we consume.
Adam Smith is responsible for creating this country'sway of thinking by simply changing the game. Though unfortunately unrecognized, he created a reason for our society to become just as civilized as it is profitable.