Adam Smith's seminal text "The Wealth of Nations" stands as a tribute to the value of capitalism. Fundamentally, its author espouses an optimistic faith in the essential rationalism of
human society and human desires. The paper shows how Smith
believes in the ability of human economic impulses to balance one another in a state of equilibrium involving supply, costs, and consumer demand, if there is no interference by outside
forces. Smith suggests that there is an '
invisible hand' that guides market forces in a harmonious way and that the state should not interfere with it. The state should only enforce laws so conflict between human beings is kept to a minimum and so the
economy can function. The paper explains that the existence of this 'invisible hand' is not generated purely by the economy, but by the nature of modern, human social life that Smith believes is, in its essence, rational and good.