Adam Smith's Psychological and Political InsightThe Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith

Much of what Adam Smith had to say about politics appears in The Wealth of Nations and Lectures on Jurisprudence. However, the psychological and political insights to be found in the first of Smith's two great books, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, remain highly relevant today. The pursuit of wealth and power, he argues, is driven not so much by the wish for possessions or authority as by the desire to be observed and admired. The great mass of people submit to the authority even of those unworthy of holding it, not for any material benefit, but from a non-rational fascination with wealth and grandeur.