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An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations; Volume 1
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
556 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1776
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About the author
Ernest Belfort Bax
181 books7 followersErnest Belfort Bax (23 July 1854 – 26 November 1926) was an English socialist journalist and philosopher, associated with the Social Democratic Federation (SDF).
Born into a nonconformist religious family in Leamington, he was first introduced to Marxism while studying philosophy in Germany. He combined Karl Marx's ideas with those of Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer and Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann. Keen to explore possible metaphysical and ethical implications of socialism, he came to describe a "religion of socialism" as a means to overcome the dichotomy between the personal and the social, and also that between the cognitive and the emotional. He saw this as a replacement for organised religion, and was a fervent atheist, keen to free workers from what he saw as the moralism of the middle-class.
Bax moved to Berlin and worked as a journalist on the Evening Standard. On his return to England in 1882, he joined the SDF, but grew disillusioned and in 1885 left to form the Socialist League with William Morris. After anarchists gained control of the League, he rejoined the SDF, and became the chief theoretician, and editor of the party paper Justice. He opposed the party's participation in the Labour Representation Committee, and eventually persuaded them to leave.
Almost throughout his life, he saw economic conditions as ripe for socialism, but felt this progress was delayed by a lack of education of the working class. Bax supported Karl Kautsky over Eduard Bernstein, but Kautsky had little time for what he saw as Bax's utopianism, and supported Theodore Rothstein's efforts to spread a more orthodox Marxism in the SDF.
Initially very anti-nationalist, Bax came to support the British in World War I, but by this point he was concentrating on his career as a barrister and did little political work.
Bax was an ardent anti feminist since, according to Bax, feminism was a part of the "anti-man crusade". According to Bax, "anti-man crusades" were responsible for "anti-man laws" during the time of men-only voting in England. Bax wrote many articles in The New Age and elsewhere about English laws partial to women against men, and women's privileged position before the law, and expressed his view that women's suffrage would unfairly tip the balance of power to women. In 1908 he wrote The Legal Subjection of Men as a response to John Stuart Mill's 1869 essay "The Subjection of Women." In 1913 he published an essay, The Fraud of Feminism, detailing feminism's adverse effects. Section titles included "The Anti-Man Crusade", "The 'Chivalry' Fake", "Always The 'Injured Innocent'", and "Some Feminist Lies and Fallacies".
Bax died in London.
More: http://www.marxists.org/archive/bax/
http://www.marxists.org/archive/bax/b...
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...
http://ernestbelfortbax.com/2014/01/2...
Born into a nonconformist religious family in Leamington, he was first introduced to Marxism while studying philosophy in Germany. He combined Karl Marx's ideas with those of Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer and Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann. Keen to explore possible metaphysical and ethical implications of socialism, he came to describe a "religion of socialism" as a means to overcome the dichotomy between the personal and the social, and also that between the cognitive and the emotional. He saw this as a replacement for organised religion, and was a fervent atheist, keen to free workers from what he saw as the moralism of the middle-class.
Bax moved to Berlin and worked as a journalist on the Evening Standard. On his return to England in 1882, he joined the SDF, but grew disillusioned and in 1885 left to form the Socialist League with William Morris. After anarchists gained control of the League, he rejoined the SDF, and became the chief theoretician, and editor of the party paper Justice. He opposed the party's participation in the Labour Representation Committee, and eventually persuaded them to leave.
Almost throughout his life, he saw economic conditions as ripe for socialism, but felt this progress was delayed by a lack of education of the working class. Bax supported Karl Kautsky over Eduard Bernstein, but Kautsky had little time for what he saw as Bax's utopianism, and supported Theodore Rothstein's efforts to spread a more orthodox Marxism in the SDF.
Initially very anti-nationalist, Bax came to support the British in World War I, but by this point he was concentrating on his career as a barrister and did little political work.
Bax was an ardent anti feminist since, according to Bax, feminism was a part of the "anti-man crusade". According to Bax, "anti-man crusades" were responsible for "anti-man laws" during the time of men-only voting in England. Bax wrote many articles in The New Age and elsewhere about English laws partial to women against men, and women's privileged position before the law, and expressed his view that women's suffrage would unfairly tip the balance of power to women. In 1908 he wrote The Legal Subjection of Men as a response to John Stuart Mill's 1869 essay "The Subjection of Women." In 1913 he published an essay, The Fraud of Feminism, detailing feminism's adverse effects. Section titles included "The Anti-Man Crusade", "The 'Chivalry' Fake", "Always The 'Injured Innocent'", and "Some Feminist Lies and Fallacies".
Bax died in London.
More: http://www.marxists.org/archive/bax/
http://www.marxists.org/archive/bax/b...
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...
http://ernestbelfortbax.com/2014/01/2...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 28, 2023
This is a partial review of Adam Smith’s “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”. It’s about volume #1 of a 1996 Brazilian edition, which divided the work into two volumes, making the cut in the middle of Book Four. My review of the whole book (volumes I and II) is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
So far, it’s been clear why this classic work is considered the milestone of Economics. Smith seeks to comprise in a single work all the relevant economic phenomena of his time, describing them in detail and extracting fundamental insights, laws and general conclusions of Economics used until today. The result is an enormous work both in importance and in extension.
It is therefore a comprehensive work, though surprisingly easy to read (not necessarily pleasant most of the time). Smith has a long-winded style, as can be expected of any author of that era, and he digs deep into many explanations of issues relevant solely to that time. However, it is worth reading the entire work to follow his rationale, and because general insights and brilliant passages appear here and there abundantly and not very systematically.
The author starts out with magisterial conjectures about productivity and division of labor (the famous example of the pin factory), going through many examples of commercial practices of the time governed by the law of supply and demand, digressions on the value of goods and gold and silver, land use, manufacture, the role of banks, productivity, among others.
It is undeniable that the work leans in the direction of freedom to exercise economic activities in the face of State laws, the importance of competition and the harm provoked by monopolies and collusion between entrepreneurs, and the benefits of foreign trade — concepts which are still quite modern. Smith, however, was a broad thinker and sought to capture the economic phenomena in a complete way — something that most modern economists clearly abandoned when narrowing the object of study with excessively simple theoretical premises, on the one hand, and extremely complex execution via mathematical elaboration, on the other.
Smith analyzes the functioning of economic systems from 100% practical topics, distancing his focus from the individual and his subjectivities, since years earlier he had written the Theory of Moral Sentiments in this regard. The distinctive feature of economic reasoning is there: investigation of causes and effects of broad collective phenomena with economic content and economic side effects of actions or measures originally intended to meet specific objectives. The famous “invisible hand” image he became so famous for plays an important role in this aspect, though it discretely appears only once at the end of the first volume. For Smith, economic agents acting in the markets pursuing solely their own interests are taken as if by an “invisible hand” and end up benefitting the public.
Although Smith does not focus his study on individual subjectivities (which ultimately is the original unit of the economic phenomena), but rather occupies himself in explaining economics as a system, it is interesting to read some passages in which he takes such subjectivities into account, such as the one on excessive work as a cause of occupational diseases. An unsuspecting reader might think this is a modern author discussing the excesses of workload in modern liberal society and the corresponding need to preserve the workers’ health against burnout!
(To be completed upon finishing the reading of volume #2).
So far, it’s been clear why this classic work is considered the milestone of Economics. Smith seeks to comprise in a single work all the relevant economic phenomena of his time, describing them in detail and extracting fundamental insights, laws and general conclusions of Economics used until today. The result is an enormous work both in importance and in extension.
It is therefore a comprehensive work, though surprisingly easy to read (not necessarily pleasant most of the time). Smith has a long-winded style, as can be expected of any author of that era, and he digs deep into many explanations of issues relevant solely to that time. However, it is worth reading the entire work to follow his rationale, and because general insights and brilliant passages appear here and there abundantly and not very systematically.
The author starts out with magisterial conjectures about productivity and division of labor (the famous example of the pin factory), going through many examples of commercial practices of the time governed by the law of supply and demand, digressions on the value of goods and gold and silver, land use, manufacture, the role of banks, productivity, among others.
It is undeniable that the work leans in the direction of freedom to exercise economic activities in the face of State laws, the importance of competition and the harm provoked by monopolies and collusion between entrepreneurs, and the benefits of foreign trade — concepts which are still quite modern. Smith, however, was a broad thinker and sought to capture the economic phenomena in a complete way — something that most modern economists clearly abandoned when narrowing the object of study with excessively simple theoretical premises, on the one hand, and extremely complex execution via mathematical elaboration, on the other.
Smith analyzes the functioning of economic systems from 100% practical topics, distancing his focus from the individual and his subjectivities, since years earlier he had written the Theory of Moral Sentiments in this regard. The distinctive feature of economic reasoning is there: investigation of causes and effects of broad collective phenomena with economic content and economic side effects of actions or measures originally intended to meet specific objectives. The famous “invisible hand” image he became so famous for plays an important role in this aspect, though it discretely appears only once at the end of the first volume. For Smith, economic agents acting in the markets pursuing solely their own interests are taken as if by an “invisible hand” and end up benefitting the public.
Although Smith does not focus his study on individual subjectivities (which ultimately is the original unit of the economic phenomena), but rather occupies himself in explaining economics as a system, it is interesting to read some passages in which he takes such subjectivities into account, such as the one on excessive work as a cause of occupational diseases. An unsuspecting reader might think this is a modern author discussing the excesses of workload in modern liberal society and the corresponding need to preserve the workers’ health against burnout!
(To be completed upon finishing the reading of volume #2).
March 6, 2019
Smith's "unseen hand" was, apparently, mentioned only once in The Wealth of Nations, but the essential notion is implicit throughout the book. We are self-interested beings at our core, Smith argues. In an economic exchange, benefit comes not from benefice - good-hearted concern for others - but, rather, from the desire for mutual gain. Spontaneous order results from each seeking their own value. Self-interest, promoted this way and magnified to a nation-scale, promotes the interest of the whole and, collectively, the wealth of nations.
For Smith, the countervailing theory is the mercantile system that advocated national self-interest in the international trading market. The mercantile approach is to sell more abroad than what is returned in value. The key to national wealth is to promote the country's interest in trading at the expense of other countries. The balance of trade, in other words, is to benefit one country's interest and this, in turn, sets up a win-lose trading arrangement.
Smith's rests his economic theory on his theory of moral sentiments. We are by nature social beings and this carries with it a certain disposition to cooperate for mutual advantage so that everyone's self-interest is satisfied. But Smith makes the mistake of presuming that humans all have the same nature whereas self-interested survival impulses work either by incorporating the interest of the other to protect the good of the other and the nation, or by seeking personal advantage at the expense of other other or the nation.
This "other side" to human nature presents the problem that Smith encounters with a mercantile system. This seamy side to the market place is seen also in two forms of utilitarianism where some forces exhibit mutual benefit (utility) whereas other forms of cooperation are fragile at best, and is expendable when it no longer services self-interest. This more purely-construed form of self interest is also why Smith's view of government breaks down. He wants government to get out of the way so that human nature can blossom, though he most certainly opposes all efforts to capture the government to promote the advantage of one group over another. That is a laudable ideal for sure, but Smith's idealism could use a serious dose of realism about how much self-interest can and does take over the reigns of power and use them to promote self-interest that results in winners and losers.
As a final point, Smith celebrates human reason as responsible for all of the good that comes from his economic theory. Animals, he says, don't exchange bones. Every man he says is a merchant. Yes, true superficially, but the desire for bones, as a metaphor for self-interest, is the same for humans as dogs. We just add self-interested reason on top of that desire. Just as with dogs, it all depends on inner character and temperament. Sometimes, many times, that reason serves a self-interest that comes at the expense of others if that can be done without consequence via dominance, manipulation, and deceit.
This review comes from the audio classic series, Parts I and II. I highly recommend the Audio Classic Series, Giants of Political Thought. These are clear and concise and interesting.
For Smith, the countervailing theory is the mercantile system that advocated national self-interest in the international trading market. The mercantile approach is to sell more abroad than what is returned in value. The key to national wealth is to promote the country's interest in trading at the expense of other countries. The balance of trade, in other words, is to benefit one country's interest and this, in turn, sets up a win-lose trading arrangement.
Smith's rests his economic theory on his theory of moral sentiments. We are by nature social beings and this carries with it a certain disposition to cooperate for mutual advantage so that everyone's self-interest is satisfied. But Smith makes the mistake of presuming that humans all have the same nature whereas self-interested survival impulses work either by incorporating the interest of the other to protect the good of the other and the nation, or by seeking personal advantage at the expense of other other or the nation.
This "other side" to human nature presents the problem that Smith encounters with a mercantile system. This seamy side to the market place is seen also in two forms of utilitarianism where some forces exhibit mutual benefit (utility) whereas other forms of cooperation are fragile at best, and is expendable when it no longer services self-interest. This more purely-construed form of self interest is also why Smith's view of government breaks down. He wants government to get out of the way so that human nature can blossom, though he most certainly opposes all efforts to capture the government to promote the advantage of one group over another. That is a laudable ideal for sure, but Smith's idealism could use a serious dose of realism about how much self-interest can and does take over the reigns of power and use them to promote self-interest that results in winners and losers.
As a final point, Smith celebrates human reason as responsible for all of the good that comes from his economic theory. Animals, he says, don't exchange bones. Every man he says is a merchant. Yes, true superficially, but the desire for bones, as a metaphor for self-interest, is the same for humans as dogs. We just add self-interested reason on top of that desire. Just as with dogs, it all depends on inner character and temperament. Sometimes, many times, that reason serves a self-interest that comes at the expense of others if that can be done without consequence via dominance, manipulation, and deceit.
This review comes from the audio classic series, Parts I and II. I highly recommend the Audio Classic Series, Giants of Political Thought. These are clear and concise and interesting.
December 31, 2008
This is the work, published in 1776, that transformed the economy of the Western world from mercantilism to capitalism, setting the stage for the global economy today. Adam Smith, a Scottish economist, purposely coincided the publishing of his book with the founding of the United States of America, which he determined would be the principal laboratory for his grand economic experiment. Smart guy...
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November 7, 2024Sooorrryyyy. Couldn't get through the first few pages even. "Savages" rubbed me the wrong way. There's good be better economic books out there but for now its still on my shelf and maybe I will give another try someday.
August 13, 2022
I should pick up the physical volumes at some point.
I like how Adam Smith approaches the topic. Although the antiquated vocabulary makes some simple phrases harder than expected.
I like how Adam Smith approaches the topic. Although the antiquated vocabulary makes some simple phrases harder than expected.
read-an-excerpt
February 3, 2023Read the first two chapters of Book 1 for HUMS3000
May 23, 2023
şirket kuracaksanız bu kitabı okumadan şirket kurmayın.
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August 23, 20242 vol, I e II.
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November 19, 2024Book 1: Chapters 1-2, 4, 5, 8; Book 3: Chapter 3; Book 4, Chapter 1
November 10, 2017
Read it to vet the deception in rhetoric:-
The Wealth of Nations almost sparked a revolution in its time 1776. Adam Smith is considered the father of modern economics. I read this book for researching economics which started merely as an art, and is now a cryptic science ,the very foundation of "business". Book is artfully written. it is a weaving of words to cast a spell .
This book was supposed to be an intellectual attempt to appeal people's sense of morality , communal harmony etc to get the to move from self sufficiency (of growing their own food) to mass production environments. One of several attempts made by various prominent public figures to re engineer society.
In these these works he seduces the reader by discussing the appropriate roles of government, namely defense, justice, the creation and maintenance of public works that contribute to commerce, education, the maintenance of the “dignity of the sovereign" These executive arms ought to be funded by "fair and clear" taxation.
The Wealth of Nations almost sparked a revolution in its time 1776. Adam Smith is considered the father of modern economics. I read this book for researching economics which started merely as an art, and is now a cryptic science ,the very foundation of "business". Book is artfully written. it is a weaving of words to cast a spell .
This book was supposed to be an intellectual attempt to appeal people's sense of morality , communal harmony etc to get the to move from self sufficiency (of growing their own food) to mass production environments. One of several attempts made by various prominent public figures to re engineer society.
In these these works he seduces the reader by discussing the appropriate roles of government, namely defense, justice, the creation and maintenance of public works that contribute to commerce, education, the maintenance of the “dignity of the sovereign" These executive arms ought to be funded by "fair and clear" taxation.
May 26, 2015
Prior to this study, most Nation's wealth was a crude measure of gold/silver bullion held by the state; Smith, however, described the wealth of a nation as the totality of production by the citizens and industries of the state.
While this publication is essential to the development of neoclassical economics, most of its ardent fans tend to cherry pick the elements that support their particular version of "the way the world should be."
Fortunately, Smith was more complex than most people recognize, especially regarding the decision makers' motivation, i.e., pure profit making must be tempered by moral considerations, a facet usually glossed over by proponents of laissez faire policies. It's a good read, but in an edifying manner; it's not a page turner by modern standards.
While this publication is essential to the development of neoclassical economics, most of its ardent fans tend to cherry pick the elements that support their particular version of "the way the world should be."
Fortunately, Smith was more complex than most people recognize, especially regarding the decision makers' motivation, i.e., pure profit making must be tempered by moral considerations, a facet usually glossed over by proponents of laissez faire policies. It's a good read, but in an edifying manner; it's not a page turner by modern standards.
December 18, 2009
These books need to be read by people concerned about the economic paths society is taken. Smith, when read, is being abused by current economic ideologues, who cite him as a model while ignoring all the issues Smith was strongly against or for that do not suite free-market ideology.
Smith would be appalled at current monetary policy, and believed that unions were the only way that labour had a chance in the labour market.
Smith would be appalled at current monetary policy, and believed that unions were the only way that labour had a chance in the labour market.
April 22, 2014
While both volumes exceed 1,000 pages, certainly making it my most voluminous read prior to attending Cambridge, Adam Smith's ideologies and views shaped by his exploration/analysis/musings on the intersections of human psychology, philosophy, and economics,and in particular his views regarding self-interest vs. selflessness -- in my view -- form the cornerstone of his thought-leadership, and what I could personally relate to the most.
October 27, 2020
The text is undoubtedly the foundation of modern economics. It is insane his detail to the market process and understanding of how trade and specialization creates wealth for nations. This book is not one-sided, though. Smith is incredibly nuanced in his arguments and presents a dialectic of the market process that can offer the reader a lifetime of enjoyment. Highly recommended.
August 7, 2014
This audio CD with its voice characterizations transports you back to the 18th century and analyzes Adam Smith's foundational arguments for a capitalist, free market economy. Much shorter than the lengthy, complex tome it analyzes.
March 20, 2011
A massively relevant book to anyone wondering why things are going the way they are economically...and to think it was written by an Englishman in the 1800's...
May 15, 2018
Good introduction to thinking about The Wealth of Nations. By the way, I love the Baroque keyboarding that separates chapters, very 1980's.
June 22, 2020
Surprisingly easy to read and understand. It’s worth it given it’s huge impact on modern economic theories
October 1, 2020
A dedicated interpretation of a giant in modern exonomics. The explanations narrator privides aided in underatanding the makings of modern economy.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews