In 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, a treatise that would forever change our understanding of how work, value, and money are interrelated. This program details Smith’s life and traces the impact of his work as Europe began the arduous transition from mercantilism to the laissez-faire philosophy of the Physiocrats. After Smith, labor was seen as the source of a country’s wealth, not its stores of gold or silver. Ironically, The Wealth of Nations would both inspire Karl Marx’s socialist ideas and facilitate the rise of liberalism, upon which the capitalist economies of subsequent centuries would be built. Quotes from The Wealth of Nations are woven into the narrative, including the famous passage describing how an “invisible hand” guides individuals towards the common good. (19 minutes)