Economics

Wealth of Nations

Wealth of Nations

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  • Create Date：2021-04-10 14:54:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Adam Smith
  • ISBN：1840226889
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Summary

Adam Smith's masterpiece， first published in 1776， is the foundation of modern economic thought and remains the single most important account of the rise of， and the principles behind， modern capitalism。 Written in clear and incisive prose， The Wealth of Nations articulates the concepts indispensable to an understanding of contemporary society; and Robert Reich's Introduction both clarifies Smith's analyses and illuminates his overall relevance to the world in which we live。 As Reich writes， "Smith's mind ranged over issues as fresh and topical today as they were in the late eighteenth century--jobs， wages， politics， government， trade， education， business， and ethics。"



Introduction by Robert Reich - Commentary by R。 H。 Campbell and A。 S。 Skinner - Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

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Reviews

Алексей Гуменюк ，

Безусловно гениальное исследование， но читать 100 страниц про то， как менялась цена пшеницы было нудновато

Mihaela Mihailova ，

Who gives stars to economic theory O。o。It is a must read if you want to understand how economies and economic systems evolve， it may give you some interesting perspectives。

Nick Kurns ，

This is going back to first principles。 As an economics major I suspect that I was supposed to read this book in college。 I never did an have not since。 But I look forward to it now！

Gene Parish ，

I recently listened to The Wealth of Nations written by Adam Smith and narrated by Gildart Jackson。Adam Smith published this seminal work on economics and economic theory in 1776。 It was， and still is for that matter， one of the books that is foundational for our understanding of modern economics。 This book is very much a product of its time。 The examples that he cites are examples of earlier times or ones concurrent with his own time。 This doesn't invalidate this work in any way， however， it do I recently listened to The Wealth of Nations written by Adam Smith and narrated by Gildart Jackson。Adam Smith published this seminal work on economics and economic theory in 1776。 It was， and still is for that matter， one of the books that is foundational for our understanding of modern economics。 This book is very much a product of its time。 The examples that he cites are examples of earlier times or ones concurrent with his own time。 This doesn't invalidate this work in any way， however， it does require thought on the part of the student to see how these well established principles apply in our modern era。Narration: Gildart Jackson has an easily understood and refined British accent which seemed an excellent pairing with this text。 I think he did an excellent job and enlivened a text that was a tad dry。Conclusion: This is an excellent introduction to the principles of economic theory。 The examples given are well explained and can be understood by anyone with a basic education。 The text and concepts are well thought out and the narrator definitely keeps one interested。 Anyone interested in the underlying principles of economics will enjoy this book。For more audiobook reviews written by me， please check out my audiobook reviews on goodreads at https://www。goodreads。com/user/show/1。。。 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

"It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense， not only in proportion to their revenue， but something more than in that proportion。" It's quotes like this that are found throughout Adam Smith's classic on capitalism。 The "invisible hand，" found in just about every economics text since and used to justify terrible policy， is mentioned just once。The "Wealth of Nations" was a great read for an economics geek like myself， but it's definitely not going to be every "It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense， not only in proportion to their revenue， but something more than in that proportion。" It's quotes like this that are found throughout Adam Smith's classic on capitalism。 The "invisible hand，" found in just about every economics text since and used to justify terrible policy， is mentioned just once。The "Wealth of Nations" was a great read for an economics geek like myself， but it's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea， especially at over 1，000 pages。 Robert L。 Heilbroner's "Essential Adam Smith" will give you the flavor without the commitment。 Read Smith's "Theory of Moral Sentiments" if you want to read his true masterpiece and learn how capitalism can serve everyone， not just the rich and powerful。 。。。more

J ，

Like swallowing a sponge， but helpful if you can stomach it。

Rebecca Joseph ，

It was definitely a good book， but not the easiest read。 For me to get through it I read the modern texts version as well as went through Youtube breakdowns for each chapter。 This really helped me digest the book better。 However， I think this book is super insightful especially and definitely a cool read to see natural human tendencies and how it builds up the economic structure of our world。The only reason I gave it a 4/5 is because this book took a long time to read solely because of the all t It was definitely a good book， but not the easiest read。 For me to get through it I read the modern texts version as well as went through Youtube breakdowns for each chapter。 This really helped me digest the book better。 However， I think this book is super insightful especially and definitely a cool read to see natural human tendencies and how it builds up the economic structure of our world。The only reason I gave it a 4/5 is because this book took a long time to read solely because of the all the videos and translations I had to go to understand it。 Overall， if you have the time to do so I would 100% recommend you read it。 。。。more

Naoman Saeed ，

You may think that this is a book about economics but you will be surprised to discover that this is also a book about administration and government。What people think the author said : "hail capitalism。 Free market rules！ "What he actually said :" instead of gold， corn is the real measure of wealth" 😅But， on a serious note， this book is full of wisdom that people in our time seem to be forgetting。 If Donald Trump had read / understood this text， he wouldn't have started the stupid "trade war"。Ad You may think that this is a book about economics but you will be surprised to discover that this is also a book about administration and government。What people think the author said : "hail capitalism。 Free market rules！ "What he actually said :" instead of gold， corn is the real measure of wealth" 😅But， on a serious note， this book is full of wisdom that people in our time seem to be forgetting。 If Donald Trump had read / understood this text， he wouldn't have started the stupid "trade war"。Adam criticises a naive & dangerous mindset that is causing problems even to this day。This book is surprisingly lacking any ideological motivation。 Instead， with every chapter， it becomes clear that the author studied the problems around him and then suggested solutions for those problems。Unlike modern Americans， （especially those libertarian types） Smith is not against big government， he acknowledges that certain parts of it are necessary and must be run well。 He doesn't consider taxes to be an infringement on personal liberties but only asks for them to be reasonable。The section about universities was particularly enlightening considering that the universities in my country suffer from exactly the same problems in this day and age。 He was very insightful about the behaviour of professors。Over all， I will recommend this book to anyone living in a modern economy who wishes to be a more informed and productive citizen。 。。。more

Adrian Fanaca ，

Well， this book is a series of price tables and price discussions together with talking about quantities of silver and gold and the fact that a Peru silver or gold mine was discovered at the time and this affected the world silver or gold prices。 Plus discussion about wheat prices。 I found this book rather long and boring， without any of the glamour that the economists attribute it with。 It might have been something for those times， but to me this book did not say much

Saeed Azizi ，

براستی بعد از خواندن این کتاب انسان متوجه میشود که چرا ادامه اسمیت را پدر علم اقتصاد نوین خوانده اند。 خواندن این کتاب را به همه دوستان جویای دانایی توصیه میکنم。 با تشکر از دانشمند عزیز دکتر سیروس ابراهیم زاده که سه کتاب از پنج کتاب را ترجمه کرده اند ولی من در جستجوی که انجام دادم گویا از دو کتاب دیگر کتاب چهارم و پنجم هنوز ترجمه ای به فارسی در دسترس نیست。 با توجه به اینکه این کتاب برای اولین بار در سال ۱۷۷۶ میلادی به چاپ رسیده از اینکه هنوز ترجمه کامل فارسی از این کتاب نداریم جای بس تاسف و شرمسا براستی بعد از خواندن این کتاب انسان متوجه میشود که چرا ادامه اسمیت را پدر علم اقتصاد نوین خوانده اند。 خواندن این کتاب را به همه دوستان جویای دانایی توصیه میکنم。 با تشکر از دانشمند عزیز دکتر سیروس ابراهیم زاده که سه کتاب از پنج کتاب را ترجمه کرده اند ولی من در جستجوی که انجام دادم گویا از دو کتاب دیگر کتاب چهارم و پنجم هنوز ترجمه ای به فارسی در دسترس نیست。 با توجه به اینکه این کتاب برای اولین بار در سال ۱۷۷۶ میلادی به چاپ رسیده از اینکه هنوز ترجمه کامل فارسی از این کتاب نداریم جای بس تاسف و شرمساری است باشد。 دانشجویان و اساتید بیشتر و فعالتر در این زمینه قدم برداریم و لااقل کتابهای پایه را ترجمه کاملی از انها ارایه دهیم。 。。。more

Derek ，

Interesting how much this book still holds up after all this time。 I can also see how much of this book has been bastardized to promote specific political ideologies。

Yasin Ustbaş ，

Yarım bıraktım。

Kanjoos ，

Seeing all the whiny morons who find this book incomprehensible， yet consider Marx a beach-readable pal， let me just interject that this is pretty pleasant reading and well worth it。 Smith was a remarkable writer on top of his knowledge and insight。 Dunno if it's worth reading an abridged edition or what; it's hard to say what one will find or ought to find interesting in here。 Like， personally， I found the chapter-long exegesis on the merits of the potato over other vegetable foodstuffs rivetin Seeing all the whiny morons who find this book incomprehensible， yet consider Marx a beach-readable pal， let me just interject that this is pretty pleasant reading and well worth it。 Smith was a remarkable writer on top of his knowledge and insight。 Dunno if it's worth reading an abridged edition or what; it's hard to say what one will find or ought to find interesting in here。 Like， personally， I found the chapter-long exegesis on the merits of the potato over other vegetable foodstuffs riveting， but would I assign it to an econ undergrad？ Likely not。 1，000 pages is a big ask， but I've been doing the audiobook， and I find it felicitous to my person。It's not even *that good* as an economics book。 One of the niggles with it is that you need to have taken four years of economics education to understand a lot of what he's saying， and if you've had that， a lot of what he's saying feels more obvious than it actually was， or is。 Important to note， though， that there's plenty Smith foresaw， predicted， or laid out that is *not* reiterated ad nauseum in econs 101 through 499。 More important to note， I like the book more as a very peculiar history book than as a straight economics treatise - the kind of fellow with lots of bizarre interpretations of esoteric historical data who's a joy to talk with and listen to， besides the fact that so much of what's contained in here is forbidden or obscured knowledge。 Did you know the Romans used crude copper rods as money？ Did you know "butcher's meat" used to be cheaper than grain？ Ever consider that the reason actors are paid so highly is not because we have ever liked them but because of all the social contempt which they are subjected to？ Adam Smith is happy to give details。 Given its sheer breadth and fun-factual zest， I think it reads more like a MODERN bestseller than a 1780s one; its depth， though， makes it something more special。 。。。more

Sangam Agarwal ，

no need to tell you what is good about this book。

Yahn Wuthstrack ，

🥩🔪🌽🤑🪙

Andrew ，

This seminal work of economics took me almost 3 years to complete — and that's listening to it as an audiobook， with literally hundreds of other books passing through my ears between the time I started and finished it。 Dry， long， but， ultimately I'm glad I pushed through it。 Definitely have a deeper appreciation for the excruciatingly boring details of the 18th century European markets。 This seminal work of economics took me almost 3 years to complete — and that's listening to it as an audiobook， with literally hundreds of other books passing through my ears between the time I started and finished it。 Dry， long， but， ultimately I'm glad I pushed through it。 Definitely have a deeper appreciation for the excruciatingly boring details of the 18th century European markets。 。。。more

Lyle ，

I need to revisit this， what a behemoth slog of borderline self evident economic principle

Nikolas Bussey ，

Economists like cherry-picking this。

Conor OD ，

If you enjoy 18th century history， or economics， this book is worth the toil。 If you want to grasp economics， a more modern book like Thomas Sowell's will be beneficial。 If you enjoy 18th century history， or economics， this book is worth the toil。 If you want to grasp economics， a more modern book like Thomas Sowell's will be beneficial。 。。。more

Demetrius Prince ，

Tough read but good historical information about money。

Katrina ，

Honestly， I'm just not a big economics person。 But this was written in ways that even I could understand。 I think you'd get more out of it if you enjoyed this kind of thing。 Honestly， I'm just not a big economics person。 But this was written in ways that even I could understand。 I think you'd get more out of it if you enjoyed this kind of thing。 。。。more

Thomas Funke ，

I was amazed at how relevant this 250 year old book was to today's economics。 If you desire to discuss economics， division of labor， taxes， customs & their impacts on human behavior & the government treasury， this is required reading。 I was amazed at how relevant this 250 year old book was to today's economics。 If you desire to discuss economics， division of labor， taxes， customs & their impacts on human behavior & the government treasury， this is required reading。 。。。more

Carlos Cisneros ，

Me ayudo a entender el origen del pensamiento neoliberal y por qué ahora sigue habiendo gente que busca la nulificacion del estado dentro del marco económico。

Bryce Corbeil ，

A perfect book。

Florence Youd ，

Most amazing characters！

Sherman Marana ，

Great story， great characters， very intelligent and thoughtful。

Roselyn Schnitz ，

I've never read anything like this before， and I loved it。 I've never read anything like this before， and I loved it。 。。。more

Enriqueta Duque ，

Extraordinarily good character development。

Scott Beaudin ，

Words paint pictures， and the picture painted by this book is。。。a bad one。 While there are some lovely passages scattered throughout it， most of this book is 18th century blatherings on topics which now seem self-evident and plain in the modern era。 I would only recommend this if you were interested in it as a historical document， of which it has incredible value。 But buckle up - it's not for the faint of heart！ Words paint pictures， and the picture painted by this book is。。。a bad one。 While there are some lovely passages scattered throughout it， most of this book is 18th century blatherings on topics which now seem self-evident and plain in the modern era。 I would only recommend this if you were interested in it as a historical document， of which it has incredible value。 But buckle up - it's not for the faint of heart！ 。。。more

Steve Horman ，

Audiobook。 This was an amazingly well written book。 I loved reading it and it was a constant flashback to my micro/macro/international/banking/tax economics classes。 （I minored in Economics） This was the handbook for my classes and our economy （USA） and I think I can blame Adam Smith for why I like low taxes haha！ I learned more about corn prices than I thought possible and how the crap did he do research back then？！ He quotes 600yo prices and your like what？！ No wonder it took so long to write Audiobook。 This was an amazingly well written book。 I loved reading it and it was a constant flashback to my micro/macro/international/banking/tax economics classes。 （I minored in Economics） This was the handbook for my classes and our economy （USA） and I think I can blame Adam Smith for why I like low taxes haha！ I learned more about corn prices than I thought possible and how the crap did he do research back then？！ He quotes 600yo prices and your like what？！ No wonder it took so long to write anything back then！ I loved so many thing about this book。 My favorite thing was relating it all to today。 The carriage tax， was similar to our vehicle registration tax。 The window tax was similar to today’s property tax。 They had the same issues back then that we do today。 Just worded differently， of monopolies he said， “I mean not， however， by any thing which I have here said， to throw any odious imputation upon the general character of the servants of the East India company， and much less upon that of any particular persons。 It is the system of government， the situation in which they are placed， that I mean to censure， not the character of those who have acted in it。 They acted as their situation naturally directed， and they who have clamoured the loudest against them would probably not have acted better themselves。” We still have this problem。 People acting as their situation naturally directs。 People get too caught up on who rather than why…just like today。Another part I liked was his complete detestation of politicians。 I can’t say I blame him。 Look at the politicians of his day！ Smith didn’t like politicians and thought they had their own self-interest in mind rather than those who they represented…just like today。 He didn’t like universities either。 He had many critiques of universities。 He seemed to think that universities didn’t teach skills…just like today。There were so many parallels that the problems of back then have just continued to morphed into problems of today。 I loved his theories and practical application of how people are going to spend their money， as well as what the role of government is。 I also liked his views on self-interest in the business world。I could keep going， but I’ll let you read it and find out the joys of capitalism for yourself！ It is a fantastic read。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Wealth of Nations

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Wealth of Nations&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Wealth of Nations&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0