Hatred and anger are the greatest poison to the happiness of a good mind.

Taxes should be fair and proportional to the income or wealth of individuals.

The law of supply and demand governs market prices and quantities.

People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.

The concept of value is subjective and depends on individual preferences.

Secrets in manufactures are capable of being longer kept than secrets in trade.

Investment in education and skills development is crucial for economic advancement.

Public institutions play a critical role in supporting economic activity.

That the chance of gain is naturally over-valued, we may learn from the universal success of lotteries.

Economic decisions should be based on rational analysis and informed judgment.

The ability to trade freely is a key driver of economic development.

Upstart greatness is everywhere less respected than ancient greatness.

Economic incentives shape individual and collective actions.

A well-functioning market economy requires a system of property rights.

I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.

The game women play is men.

Markets are more efficient when participants have access to complete and accurate information.

Economic progress depends on the productive use of resources.

On the road from the City of Skepticism, I had to pass through the Valley of Ambiguity.

Problems worthy of attacks, prove their worth by hitting back.

Government policies should support entrepreneurship and innovation.

No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.

The study of economics involves understanding human behavior and decision-making.

All jobs are created in direct proportion to the amount of capital employed.

To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature.

Markets are efficient when they operate with minimal restrictions and barriers.

The role of government is to ensure that markets function properly and fairly.

Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production.

Economic policies should be designed to encourage investment and growth.

Happiness never lays its finger on its pulse.

The principles of economic theory are applicable to a wide range of contexts.

Sugar, rum and tobacco are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which are become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are therefore extremely proper subjects of taxation.

The interaction between buyers and sellers determines market prices.

No complaint… is more common than that of a scarcity of money.

Economic growth requires both domestic and international trade.

Wherever there is great property, there is great inequality.

Markets are best equipped to allocate resources when they are free from excessive regulation.

Defense is superior to opulence.

Humanity is the virtue of a woman, generosity that of a man.

Economic theories should be grounded in practical experience and empirical evidence.

The efficiency of markets depends on the availability of information and competition

I am a beau in nothing but my books.

Economic policies should be aimed at promoting long-term prosperity and stability.

Adventure upon all the tickets in the lottery, and you lose for certain; and the greater the number of your tickets the nearer your approach to this certainty.

Every man lives by exchanging.

Economic growth is driven by innovation, competition, and investment in human capital.

It is not by augmenting the capital of the country, but by rendering a greater part of that capital active and productive than would otherwise be so, that the most judicious operations of banking can increase the industry of the country.

Economic freedom is essential for the growth and prosperity of a nation.

The wealth of nations is created by the labor and ingenuity of its people.

The government should only intervene in the economy to correct market failures and ensure justice.

This is one of those cases in which the imagination is baffled by the facts.

Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.

A fair competition is the best way to encourage innovation and improve standards.

The accumulation of capital is necessary for economic growth and development.

Great ambition, the desire of real superiority, of leading and directing, seems to be altogether peculiar to man, and speech is the great instrument of ambition.

The division of labor is limited by the extent of the market.

The problem with fiat money is that it rewards the minority that can handle money, but fools the generation that has worked and saved money.

The prosperity of a nation depends on the productivity of its labor and the efficiency of its institutions.

A free market is the best mechanism for allocating resources and fostering innovation.

Resentment seems to have been given us by nature for a defense, and for a defense only! It is the safeguard of justice and the security of innocence.

Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this – no dog exchanges bones with another.

The true measure of a nation’s wealth is its ability to provide for the well-being of its citizens.

The state should never interfere with the market process unless absolutely necessary.

Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.

All money is a matter of belief.

The pursuit of self-interest is not in itself a vice but a part of human nature.

Labor was the first price, the original purchase – money that was paid for all things.

Individual Ambition Serves the Common Good.

In the long run, it is not the entrepreneur who gains the most from the free market, but the society as a whole.

Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.

The wealth of a nation depends upon the productivity and efficiency of its labor force.

Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.

With the greater part of rich people, the chief enjoyment of riches consists in the parade of riches.

Self-interest, though it may often be a motive of action, is not the only motive that guides human behavior.

The desire for wealth and the pursuit of self-interest can often lead to beneficial outcomes for society.

The market is a powerful mechanism for the distribution of resources.

Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.

He is led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.

The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?

A nation that becomes rich by means of trade must be industrious, frugal, and prudent.

The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations.

As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce.

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

The division of labor, then, is the cause of the increase in the productive powers of labor.