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An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published on March 9, 1776, the book offers one of the world’s first collected descriptions of what builds nations’ wealth and is today a fundamental work in classical economics. Through reflection over the economics at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution the book touches upon such broad topics as the division of labor, productivity, and free markets.

Adam_Smith_The_Muir_portraitAdam Smith

The Wealth of Nations was published during the Scottish Enlightenment and the Scottish Agricultural Revolution. It influenced a number of authors and economists, as well as governments and organizations. 

The Wealth of Nations was the product of seventeen years of notes, and observation of conversation among economists of the time concerning economic and societal conditions during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and took Smith ten years to produce.  It provided the foundation for new economists, politicians, mathematicians, biologists, and thinkers of all fields to build upon. Irrespective of historical influence, The Wealth of Nations represented a clear shift in the field of economics, similar to Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica for physics, Antoine Lavoisier’s Traité Élémentaire de Chimie for chemistry, or Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species for biology

Posted by on March 9, 2015 in History and tagged , .

2 Comments

2 responses

  1. Birgit says:
    March 9, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    I am completely ignorant on this topic so to read a little bit about this is enlightening. Good to read this and touch on something that is important

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    • Maryann Holloway says:
      March 9, 2015 at 6:23 pm

      The only thing I remember about Adam Smith from college is that man act in his own self interest so an economy that promotes self interest such as capitalism works and those that don’t won’t work. It is kind of a generalization but under socialism, I may not work hard because my self interest would not be satisfied.

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