Economics and its history It was believed that one could not have the better understanding on economics without having read
any of what the great thinkers of the past had written. To avoid losing something, economists are doing some economic analysis. It is possible that today’s economic students would be better equipped if they will study live problems and also the ideas of great economic thinkers. The art of making a living like the invented ways and means of food gathering and hunting by the primitive people marked that economic ideas and practices were as old as mankind. As a science, Economics is very young compare with other sciences. From the ancient beginning, Adam Smith (1723-90) lived during Industrial Revolution and was one of the first scholars to understand many of the central mechanisms of a free, or unplanned economy. Much of his life was spent as professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, He launched his monumental work. “Wealth of Nations” which was perhaps the first attempt turning the study of man’s economy into a science. This book was published in 1776 and became the bible of Economics. Because of the economic contributions of Smith in the field of science, he has been called as the “Father of Modern Economics.” While the history of economic thought generally begins with Adam Smith, the trail leads much further back in time. In 1742, Francis Hutcheson, a professor of Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, teacher of Smith most likely inspired his great quest to understand the economy of mankind. He published books entitled Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy, Elements of the Law of Nature, and the third one carried the title of The Principle of Oeconomics and Politics. The latter is the book that resurrected “oeconomics” from its Greek origin stemming from the compounded form of “oikos” meaning household and the complex root “nem” meaning “to regulate, to administer, to control”. Hutcheson did not originate this work but in fact used a much more ancient text as his model. This book was written by an Athenian philosopher prior to the 4th century B.C. named Xenophon in a form of Socratic dialogue. The title of Xenophon’s work was “Oikonomikos” which was effectively a “how to book” for the Greek landowner on administering his estate. Hutcheson used Xenophon’s work and translate its title into Latin “Oeconomics” and later into English “Economics”.