From pins to algorithms: Adam Smith's bequest

 With BEAtriz SIMÓN, professor of the department of political science and sociology.

Can you imagine a book written 250 years ago changing the way the world works? It is not a novel, nor a legend. It is a treatise on Economics, Philosophy and politics written by a Scotsman who spent hours observing the workings of markets, factories and human nature. His name: Adam Smith. His work: "The Wealth of Nations".

His ideas are still behind things we see every day: why prices rise, how work is organized or what role the state should have. Today we celebrate the 250th anniversary of this book that is still making people talk. And to understand why it is still so relevant, in this episode we talk to Beatriz Simón, professor in the department of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Navarra.

Lessons learned from this episode:

• Who was Adam Smith and why does it matter today?

• Historical context of The Wealth of Nations (1776)

• The "invisible hand": does the market regulate itself?

• Ethics and Economics: Was Smith just a pragmatist or also a moralist?

• Division of work and the pin factory

• The role of the State according to Smith

• Did Smith invent capitalism?

• Which ideas are still valid today and which have become outdated

• Smith on inequality, taxation and sustainability

• Why young people in the 21st century should read Adam Smith

 Listen to it on Spotify