An Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations

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From Introduction: "The annual labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniencies of life which it annually consumes, and which consist always either in the immediate produce of that labour, or in what is purchased with that produce from other nations. According, therefore, as this produce, or what is purchased with it, bears a greater or smaller proportion to the number of those who are to consume it, the nation will be better or worse supplied with all the necessaries and conveniencies for which it has occasion. But this proportion must in every nation be regulated by two different circumstances: first, by the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which its labour is generally applied; and, secondly, by the proportion between the number of those who are employed in useful labour, and that of those who are not so employed. Whatever be the soil, climate, or extent of territory of any particular nation, the abundance or scantiness of its annual supply must, in that particular situation, depend upon those two circumstances. The abundance or scantiness of this supply, too, seems to depend more upon the former of those two circumstances than upon the latter. Among the savage nations of hunters and fishers, every individual who is able to work is more or less employed in useful labour, and endeavours to provide, as well as he can, the necessaries and conveniencies of life, for himself, and such of his family or tribe as are either too old, or too young, or too infirm, to go a-hunting and fishing. Such nations, however, are so miserably poor, that, from mere want, they are frequently reduced, or at least think themselves reduced, to the necessity sometimes of directly destroying, and sometimes of abandoning their infants, their old people, and those afflicted with lingering diseases, to perish with hunger, or to be devoured by wild beasts. Among civilized and thriving nations, on the. contrary, though a great number of people do not labour at all, many of whom consume the produce of ten times, frequently of a hundred times, more labour than the greater part of those who work ; yet the produce of the whole labour of the society is so great, that all are often abundantly supplied ; and a workman, even of the lowest and poorest order, if he is frugal and industrious, may enjoy a greater share of the necessaries and conveniencies of life than it is possible for any savage to acquire."

Customer Reviews ::

Review of Dickey's Abridgment (Hackett Publishing) - Reader - Arlington, Virginia
"The Wealth of Nations" is a big book of economics, history, philosophy, and social criticism. It is much more than Adam Smith neckties at GOP conventions, just as it is much than a reverential nod or two in modern textbooks. Econ students need to read it to see where their discipline came from and what it could be again. Fortunately, Dickey's abridgment reproduces enough of the text (about 25 percent) to convey the depth of Smith's erudition and the amazing diversity of his interests. Unfortunately, the editorial apparatus is weak. The Comments are few in number and incredibly brief, and the short Preface fails to put the book into historical and intellectual context. Dickey does offer four appendices but these deal with relatively specialized topics rather than the big picture.

Bottom line: this edition is inexpensive but is probably not the best one for students.

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