The roots of the concept of human development can often be traced to early periods in human history and can be found in many cultures and religions. Aristotle wrote that "wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking, for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else". A similar strain was reflected in the writings of the early founders of quantitative economics and in the works of the pioneers of political economy . When Adam Smith, that apostle of free enterprise and private initiative, showed his concern that economic development should enable a person to mix freely with others without being "ashamed to appear in publick", he was expressing a concept of poverty that
went beyond counting calories-a concept that integrated the poor into the mainstream of the community.