How Economic Liberation Created the Great Enrichment
Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Nearly 250 years later, the principles he outlined still guide how we think about prosperity and human flourishing. Dr. Deirdre McCloskey’s 2016 Wall Street Journal essay builds on Smith’s foundation with a compelling thesis: ordinary people’s economic freedom, not capital accumulation or exploitation, created the unprecedented wealth we see today. We named our firm after Smith’s revolutionary year because we believe in these same principles. In this article, we explore why economic liberty remains the most powerful force for human betterment, and why entrepreneurs and executives should understand this history as they build their own wealth.
At 1776 Wealth, we’re named after the year Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations—the foundational text that established the modern framework for economic freedom and wealth creation. So when we discovered Dr. Deirdre McCloskey’s brilliant Wall Street Journal essay exploring how ordinary people’s economic liberation created unprecedented global prosperity, we knew it belonged in our library of essential reading.
While this piece was published nearly a decade ago, its insights have only grown more relevant. As we work with entrepreneurs and executives navigating today’s complex capital markets, we’re reminded daily that wealth creation isn’t about exploitation or mere capital accumulation—it’s about ideas, innovation, and the freedom to pursue economic betterment.
Dr. McCloskey’s central thesis resonates deeply with our mission: when people are liberated to pursue their economic dreams—when they’re treated as worthy of respect and given the dignity of economic agency—extraordinary things happen. The “Great Enrichment” she describes didn’t come from top-down planning or redistributive policies, but from what she calls the “bourgeois deal”: Let me seize an opportunity for economic betterment, tested in trade, and I’ll make us all rich.
This is precisely the spirit we champion at 1776 Wealth. Our clients aren’t just accumulating capital—they’re building businesses, creating value, and participating in the ongoing revolution of human betterment that began in 1776. Whether you’re growing your venture, harvesting your success, or maximizing your executive compensation, you’re part of this remarkable story of economic liberation and wealth creation. We share this article because it articulates, with historical depth and economic rigor, why we believe so passionately in capitalism’s power to transform lives. It’s not about the privileged few extracting value from the many—it’s about unleashing human creativity and ingenuity through economic freedom. That’s what 1776 represents to us, and it’s what we help our clients achieve every day.
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*The following article by Dr. Deirdre N. McCloskey originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal on May 20, 2016, and is republished here under license. Dr. McCloskey is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Economics, History, English and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago.*
