The pursuit of wealth is a fool's game. It's going to degrade you, he says. You're going to do things you're going to be ashamed of and that you'll want to hide. The quieter path is to pursue wisdom and virtue which he advocates for. And what he's saying there is that not only do we want to be praised and honored and respected but we want to earn that honestly. We want to be praise worthy. We Want to matter.
Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. Prepare for a very Smithy tug of war. (Part 2 of “In Search of the Real Adam Smith.”)