Martin Luther and Adam Smith

“Shetty” asks HERE 

Martin Luther and Adam Smith-- their countries?

“I know Martin Luther and Adam Smith's ideas, but I'd like to know which countries did they affect/change?

I have a feeling Martin Luther's Ninety Five Theses affected the country Germany...

But what about Adam Smith. Could it be England? o:

History is my worst subject.. T_T”

Comment

Not just your “history”, “Shetty”; your geography is just as poor. 

Adam Smith was Scottish; he lived and worked in Scotland.  His ideas about how markets developed historically and worked, and his ideas may have affected individuals in many countries, though few countries needed to adopt his ideas, rather than lectures about them and leaving his books on their shelves.  What changes came about were largely from changes internally generated and already underway in the economies and societies experiencing the shift from commercial societies to innovating, industrial market economies.

‘Mercantile political economy’, the target of much of Adam Smith’s critique of existing government policy, was already losing its commanding influence, though it kept re-appearing in lesser forms right through to the 21s century.

The same changes would have happened if Smith had not survived childhood, a fate experienced by by many children in the 18^th century and all the centuries before then.

England was the largest of the four countries that made up the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” from the 1800s.

Foreigners often refer to Britain and its constituent parts as “England”.  Even UK National TV presenters made a habit of doing so until recently when Scottish sensitivities were recognised by the PR people of doing so, and they advised the BBC to require its staff to drop saying “England” and refer instead to “Britain”.  It may have something to do with the 2014 referendum on Scottish Independence”…

Central and South American people sometimes are irritated by Europeans and others referring to “America” when they mean the USA.