Adam Smith's conception of human nature as articulated in, "The Wealth of Nations," is not very flattering. He seems to think that to "truck, barter and exchange" is the distinctive
characteristic of human beings. This economic view of human nature is the forerunner to
contemporary liberal assumptions about human nature as that which is guided by economic rationality. Smith also attributes a second propensity to human nature - a desire to better his condition. Smith utilizes this propensity to postulate the theme of "natural progress." Human condition, according to Smith, is continually getting better because of the "uniform, constant and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his condition," an effort "frequently powerful enough to maintain the natural progress of things towards improvement."
