The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith
The Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776, is the founding text of modern economics. But as our interviews with experts below make clear, its author, Adam Smith, was a moral philosopher and no unabashed cheerleader for the capitalist system he saw flourishing around him in Glasgow, a city grown rich from trade with the American colonies:
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“Economists the world over are going to be celebrating the semiquincentennial of The Wealth of Nations this year, a book that was published on March 9, 1776. I first read it in college and recently, as we approach this milestone, decided to re-read it and was amazed about how fresh and vivid it felt, as well as how nuanced and humane it is. In many ways, all of the questions in my other four books came out of The Wealth of Nations which is, justly, credited with launching the field of economics. It asked big questions about the nature of money, why different economies developed in different ways (including the American colonies—not yet the United States—and China), the past and future of population growth, and even a bit of personal finance. Of course, we have learned an enormous amount since 1776, both through theory, experience, data and techniques that were not available to Smith, like statistical analysis. Economics is not hermeneutics, where economists pore over ancient texts hoping that by understanding them they can discover truths. That said, Smith does have some bigger picture wisdom that remains relevant up until today, and in some cases expressed in ways that have not been surpassed since.” Read more...
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Jason Furman, Economist
“The Wealth of Nations is, of course, one of the most famous, though certainly not most read or understood, books of all time. It was first published in 1776. In fact, I was once asked on an exam in high school ‘Who invented capitalism in 1776?’” Read more...
Dennis Rasmussen, Philosopher
“What is amazing about Smith is that he tried to relate economics to morals and ethics, in the sense that economics is only a small part of what society should be thinking about.” Read more...
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Stephen D King, Economist
“It’s a long book and it covers many things. But it’s particularly important for the history of reading.” Read more...
William St Clair, Historian
“If you read it closely it’s not a naive apology for unregulated markets, but he’s quite keenly aware of the problems of financial regulation.” Read more...
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Niall Ferguson, Historian
“Many people know Smith’s arguments in favour of free markets but how many people know his thoughts about the failings of market economics? In the book he argues things like: ‘People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public…’” Read more...
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William Hopper, Politician
“At the time Adam Smith was writing Britain was a developing economy.” Read more...
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Pranab Bardhan, Economist
“Reading of it necessarily requires so much Attention, and the Public is disposed to give so little, that I shall still doubt for some time of its being at first very popular.”
“What an excellent work is that with which our common friend Mr. Adam Smith has enriched the public! An extensive science in a single book, and the most profound idea expressed in the most perspicuous language.”
“The manufacturing system has been carried among us to an extent unheard of in any former age or country; it has enabled us to raise a revenue which twenty years ago we ourselves should have thought it impossible to support, and it has added even more to the activity of the country than to its ostensible wealth; but in a far greater degree has it diminished its happiness and lessened its security. Adam Smith’s book is the code, or confession of faith, of this system; a tedious and hardhearted book, greatly overvalued even on the score of ability.”
“If your views of political inquiry go further, to the subjects of money & commerce, Smith’s Wealth of Nations is the best book to be read. . . .”
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