Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations had a huge global impact

The Wealth of Nations described the industrialised capitalist system that overthrew the mercantilist system. Mercantilism stated that wealth was fixed and the only way to prosper was to hoard gold and tariff products from abroad.

The essence of Smith's thesis was that people's natural tendency for self-interest leads to prosperity. By giving people the freedom to produce and exchange goods and opening the markets to competition, people's natural self-interest would create greater wealth than with strict government regulations.