Book Bearings
The Wealth of Nations
- 581 pages · about 10 hours
- First published 1776
- 123 editions
- Free to read
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1 About this book
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, is the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith's examination of how commercial societies generate wealth. It is in five books. The first two deal with the division of labor and with the accumulation and use of capital; the third traces the different economic progress of different nations; the later books examine the economic systems and policies of his day and the revenue of the state. It is regarded as a founding work of classical economics.
- Economics
- History
- Politics and government
- Business & economics
- United states, politics and government
- Communism
- Finance
- Business
2 What to expect
The founding book of modern economics, from 1776: a long inquiry into how nations grow rich, through the division of labor, markets and trade, and where governments help or hinder. It is less dogmatic than its reputation, full of historical examples and digressions. The eighteenth-century prose is clear but slow, and many editions for general readers are abridged.
Good for readers who want: the foundations of economics, Enlightenment thought, and a landmark classic.
3 Read it free, right here
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Read it on the Internet Archive4 About Adam Smith
Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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