It is symbolic that Adam Smith’s masterpiece of economic analysis, The Wealth of Nations, was first published in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence.
In his book, Smith fervently extolled the simple yet enlightened notion that individuals are fully capable of setting and regulating prices for their own goods and services. He argued passionately in favor of free trade, yet stood up for the little guy. The Wealth of Nations provided the first--and still the most eloquent--integrated description of the workings of a market economy.
The result of Smith’s efforts is a witty, highly readable work of genius filled with prescient theories that form the basis of a thriving capitalist system. This unabridged edition offers the modern reader a fresh look at a timeless and seminal work that revolutionized the way governments and individuals view the creation and dispersion of wealth--and that continues to influence our economy right up to the present day.
Nobody seriously involved in economics can do without this exhaustive work, originally published in five volumes as An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This classic is a pragmatic and accessible milestone in the history of economics. Its author, Adam Smith, is woven into every economics textbook. However, Smith's theories, which today often are recounted mostly in fragments, frequently incorrectly, reveal their entire social and economic innovative power only in context. Smith burst onto the scene at a time when absolutist national states monopolized the world's precious metal reserves and tried to increase their own wealth through stringent export policies. These states were motivated by an entirely new concept about national wealth: that it stemmed from the work of the country's people, not from gold. Based on that idea, economic markets should balance themselves as if guided by an "invisible hand," impelled by each individual's self-interest. The state has to provide only an orderly framework and specific public goods and services. Even though Smith's image of idealized economic and social harmony may have developed a few cracks over the course of time, his ideas have inspired many well-known economists during the past 250 years, including David Ricardo, Vilfredo Pareto, Friedrich August von Hayek and Milton Friedman. We highly recommend this seminal work.
Do not be dismayed by the book's substantial girth! The Wealth of Nations is an essential, brilliant, philosophical read for anyone interested in economics.
I reread (more like re-scanned) Adam Smith's famous book, The Wealth of Nations. It is a fairly aggressive book based on its size with almost 1,000 pages of fairly fine print of which half of it is dedicated to the supply and demand of corn. But it is surprisingly readable and even interesting. And it is the basic textbook of all economics.
Wealth is defined as production capability or what we might call GDP.
I figure with a changing economy, it never hurts to brush up on the basics. We are in a period of sharp changes in supply and demand. It is important for business leaders to try to understand what impact this will have on them and their companies.
One principle that Adam espouses is the division of labour.
He also talks about principals, those are the people that supply the capital that is put to use by the agents (people who apply the capital). His view is that people should not do both, they should do one or the other. It is an interesting thought.
He is very harsh on protectionism (as am I).
I am not going to recommend reading it because the size is too daunting for many people. I am suggesting thinking of the changes in our economy and how to thrive with them.
