Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and pioneering political economist and one of the key figures of the intellectual movement known as the Scottish Enlightenment.He is now depicted on the back of the brand new £20 note.

• Editor's Introduction by Johnathan B.Wight, University of Richmond Notes on the Text Introduction and Plan of the Work Notable Quotes from The Wealth of Nations Contents to The Wealth of Nations Book I Of the Causes of Improvement in the productive Powers of Labour, and of the order according to which its Produce is naturally distributed among the different Ranks of the people. CHAPTER I Of the Division of Labour CHAPTER II Of the Principle which gives Occasion to the Division of Labour CHAPTER III That the Division of labour is Limited by the Extent of the Market CHAPTER IV Of the Origin and Use of Money CHAPTER V Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of their Price in Labour, and their Price in Money CHAPTER VI Of the Component parts of the Price of Commodities CHAPTER VII Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities CHAPTER VIII Of the Wages of Labour CHAPTER IX Of the Profits of Stock CHAPTER X Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labour and Stock PART I. Inequalities arising from the nature of the employments themselves PART II Inequalities occasioned by the Policy of Europe CHAPTER XI Of the Rent of Land PART I. Of the Produce of Land which always affords Rent PART II. Of the Produce of Land, which sometimes does, and sometimes does not, afford Rent PART III. Of the variations in the Proportion between the respective Values of that sort of Produce which always affords Rent, and of that which sometimes does, and sometimes does not, afford Rent Digression concerning the Variations in the value of Silver during the Course of the Four last Centuries FIRST PERIOD SECOND PERIOD THIRD PERIOD Variations in the Proportion between the respective Values of Gold and Silver Grounds of the suspicion that the Value of Silver still continues to decrease Different Effects of the Progress of Improvement upon three different sorts of rude Produce First Sort Second sort Third Sort Conclusion of the Digression concerning the Variations in the Value of Silver Effects of the Progress of Improvement upon the real Price of Manufactures CONCLUSION of the CHAPTER PRICES OF WHEAT Book II Of the Nature, Accululation, and Employment of Stock CHAPTER I Of the Division of Stock CHAPTER II Of Money, Considered as a Particular Branch of theGeneral Stock of the Society, or of the Expense of Maintaining the National Capital CHAPTER III Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour CHAPTER IV Of Stock Lent at Interest CHAPTER V Of the Different Employment of Capitals Book III Of the Different Progress of Opulence in Different Nations CHAPTER I Of the Natural Progress of Opulence CHAPTER II Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the Ancient State of Europe, after the Fall of the Roman Empire CHAPTER III Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the Fall of the Roman Empire CHAPTER IV How the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvement of the country Book IV Of Systems of Political Economy Introduction CHAPTER I Of the Principle of the Commercial or Mercantile System CHAPTER II Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of such Goods can be produced at Home CHAPTER III Of the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods of almost all Kinds, from those Countries with which the Balance is supposed to be Disadvantageous PART I. Of the Unreasonableness of those Restraints, even upon the Principles of the Commercial System Digression concerning Banks of Deposit, particularly concerning that of Amsterdam PART II. Of the Unreasonableness of those extraordinary Restraints, upon other Principles CHAPTER IV Of Drawbacks CHAPTER V Of Bounties Digression concerning the Corn Trade and Corn Laws CHAPTER VI Of Treaties of Commerce PART I PART II PART III CHAPTER VII Of Colonies PART I. Of the Motives for Establishing New Colonies PART II. Causes of the Prosperity of New Colonies PART III. Of the Advantages which Europe has derived From the Discovery of America, and from that of a Passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope CHAPTER VIII Conclusion of the Mercantile System CHAPTER IX Of the Agricultural Systems, or of those Systems of Political Economy which Represent the Produce of Land, as either the Sole or the Principle Source of the Revenue and Wealth of Every Country Appendix to Book IV Book V Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth CHAPTER I Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth PART I. Of the Expense of Defence PART II. Of the Expense of Justice PART III. Of the Expense of public Works and public Institutions ARTICLE I. Of the public Works and Institutions for facilitating the Commerce of the Society, And, first, of those which are necessary for facilitating Commerce in general Of the public Works and Institution which are necessary for facilitating particular Branches of Commerce ARTICLE II. Of the Expense of the Institution for the Education of Youth ARTICLE III. Of the Expense of the Institutions for the Instruction of People of all Ages PART IV. Of the Expense of supporting the Dignity of the Sovereign CONCLUSION CHAPTER II Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society PART I. Of the Funds, or Sources, of Revenue, which may peculiarly belong to the Sovereign or Commonwealth PART II. Of Taxes ARTICLE I. Taxes upon Rent - Taxes upon the Rent of Land Taxes which are proportioned, not in the Rent, but to the Produce of Land Taxes upon the Rent of Houses ARTICLE II. Taxes upon Profit, or upon the Revenue arising from Stock Taxes upon the Profit of particular Employments APPENDIX TO ARTICLES I AND II - Taxes upon the Capital Value of Lands, Houses, and Stock ARTICLE III. Taxes upon the Wages of Labour ARTICLE IV. Taxes which it is intended should fall indifferently upon every different Species of Revenue Capitation Taxes Taxes upon Consumable Commodities Consumable commodities are either necessaries or luxuries CHAPTER III Of Public Debts INDEX

For years I have looked around for a really nice hardback edition of The Wealth of Nations without finding one. But this new edition is splendid, the sort of thing I am pleased to have on my shelf, and which would make a fine gift too.Adam Smith was the first to see that the measure of a nation's wealth was not money, but the industry and enterprise of its people. That a thriving and growing economy could lift whole nations out of poverty. And that the keys to economic growth were incentives, free enterprise, and productivity. That makes The Wealth of Nations just as relevant today as when it was written. So I am delighted to see this handsome new edition.An enormously useful feature of this edition is the selection of famous quotes at the beginning. Smith's insightful epigrams such as "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest" and his famous remarks on the "invisible hand" can be hard to find in the original, but here they all are, laid out easily and accessibly. There is also a brief guide which explains to the reader what Smith was trying to do in each section of the work, which makes reading it much easier.