Selections from the Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith (16 June 1723 NS (5 June 1723 OS) – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He is best known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the father of modern economics and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of economics today.

Introduction vii

Book I

Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Powers of Labor, and of the Order According to Which Its Produce Is Naturally Distributed among the Different Ranks of the People

Of the Division of Labor 1

Of the Principle which Gives Occasion to the Division of Labor 10

That the Division of Labor Is Limited by the Extent of the Market 14

Of the Origin and Use of Money 19

Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of Their Price in Labor and Their Price in Money 23

Of the Component Parts of the Price of Commodities 30

Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities 38

Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labor and Stock 48

Book IV

Of Systems of Political Economy

Introduction 61

Of the Principle of the Commercial of Mercantile System 62

Of the Agricultural Systems, or of Those Systems of Political Economy, which Represent the Produce of Land, as Either the Sole or the Principal Source of the Revenue and Wealth of Every Country 87

Book V

Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth

Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth 89

Bibliography 116

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