Theory of moral sentiments

Adam Smith (1723-1790) is a Scottish economist, philosopher and one of the founders of modern economic science. The author of the "research on the nature and causes of the wealth of peoples" is the foundations of classical political economy.
“Theory of moral feelings” of Adam Smith, on a par with Benedict Spinoza and the “criticism of the practical mind,” Immanuel Kant.
Adam Smith claims that the reason for the aspiration of people to wealth, the cause of ambition is not the need to achieve material well -being, but mostly a desire to distinguish, attract attention, cause approval, praise, sympathy, or get their benefits accompanying them.
According to Smith, the main goal of a person is the satisfaction of vanity, not welfare or pleasure. Wealth puts a person to the fore, turning into a center of universal attention. Poverty means obscurity and oblivion