The wealth of nations adams smith

Tác phẩm kinh điển "Của cải của dân tộc" của Adam Smith

WoN_fullcover:Layout 18/8/08 15:36 Page In 1778, Smith moved to Edinburgh to accept an appointment as Commissioner of Customs for Scotland He died on July 17, 1790, leaving instructions to burn his unfinished manuscripts One exception was the Essays on Philosophical Subjects, which was published posthumously in 1795 This work contains a number of Smith’s important articles on science, the arts, and metaphysics “For me perhaps the most compelling reason why The Wealth of Nations is still relevant today is that to read it is to invite inspiration – a precious commodity in any age.” George Osborne, MP This edition, based on the classic Cannan version of the text, includes a foreword by George Osborne MP and an introduction by Jonathan B Wight, University of Richmond, which aims to place the work in a business context Wight also provides an invaluable ‘Notable Quotes’ section where he extracts and categorises some of the most famous and pertinent sections of Smith’s work This classic work is as essential today as it was when it first written www.harriman-house.com/wealthofnations Hh Harriman House Publishing Notable quotes On the division of labour: “The greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which it is any where directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labour.” On the role of profit: “It is the stock that is employed for the sake of profit, which puts into motion the greater part of the useful labour of every society The plans and projects of the employers of stock regulate and direct all the most important operations of labour, and profit is the end proposed by all those plans and projects.” Wealth Nations The of Adam Smith On international trade: “It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.” Adam Smith In 1767, Smith received a life pension from the Duke and returned to Kirkcaldy Inspired by the French reformers he had met, Smith began to develop his Glasgow economics lectures into a book on commerce Intellectuals greeted the book with acclaim, but British legislators were not swayed The Wealth of Nations did give comfort to the colonial revolutionaries, however, as attested by the number of America’s founding fathers who bought it for their libraries Smith wrote, "It is the industry which is carried on for the benefit of the rich and the powerful that is principally encouraged by our mercantile system That which is carried on for the benefit of the poor and the indigent is too often either neglected or oppressed." of While modern readers may know of Adam Smith because of The Wealth of Nations, his early renown during his life came from The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), a book that addresses the ethical foundations of human society Based on the reputation of this work, Smith was offered a position as tutor to the stepson of Lord Charles Townshend, the Duke of Buccleuch This afforded him the opportunity to travel to Europe for several years, where he met the leaders of the Enlightenment movement Smith's message was that economic exploitation, through the monopoly trade of empire, stifled wealth-creation in both home and foreign lands Moreover, protectionism preserved the status quo, and privileged a few elites at the expense of long run growth Wealth Nations Adam Smith was born in June 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland He studied at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1740 and then went on to Balliol College, Oxford In 1751, Smith was elected a professor at the University of Glasgow, and the following year accepted its Chair of Moral Philosophy Smith’s course included lectures on natural religion, ethics, jurisprudence, and political economy (the latter providing the future foundation for The Wealth of Nations) The Wealth of Nations is a treasured classic of political economy First published in March of 1776, Adam Smith wrote the book to influence a special audience – the British Parliament – and its arguments in the early spring of that year pressed for peace and cooperation with Britain's colonies rather than war The Adam Smith Harriman House ISBN 9781905641260 Hh Hh Harriman House is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of finance and business books Our catalogue covers personal finance, stock market investing and trading, politics, current affairs, business and economics For details of all of our titles go to: www.harriman-house.com £19.99 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations BY ADAM SMITH HARRIMAN HOUSE LTD 3A Penns Road Petersfield Hampshire GU32 2EW Tel: +44 (0)1730 233870 Fax: +44 (0)1730 233880 Originally published in 1776 This edition published by Harriman House, 2007 © Harriman House Ltd ISBN: 1-9056-4126-5 ISBN 13: 978-1905641-26-0 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior written consent of the Publisher Printed and bound in Great Britain by the CPI Group ‘Bath Press’, No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person or corporate body acting or refraining to act as a result of reading material in this book can be accepted by the Publisher or by the Author Contents Foreword by George Osborne, MP ix Editor’s Introduction by Jonathan B.Wight, University of Richmond xi Notes on the Text xix Notable Quotes from The Wealth of Nations xxi Introduction and Plan of the Work xxxix 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 goves Occasion to the Division of Labour CHAPTER III That the Division of labour is Limited by the Extent of the Market 12 CHAPTER IV Of the Origin and Use of Money 15 CHAPTER V Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of their Price in Labour, and their Price in Money 20 iii The Wealth of Nations CHAPTER VI Of the Component parts of the Price of Commodities 31 CHAPTER VII Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities 36 CHAPTER VIII Of the Wages of Labour 43 CHAPTER IX Of the Profits of Stock 58 CHAPTER X Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labour and Stock 65 PART I – Inequalities arising from the nature of the employments themselves 65 PART II – Inequalities occasioned by the Policy of Europe 78 CHAPTER XI Of the Rent of Land 94 PART I – Of the Produce of Land which always affords Rent 95 PART II – Of the Produce of Land, which sometimes does, and sometimes does not, afford Rent 105 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 114 FIRST PERIOD 115 SECOND PERIOD 124 THIRD PERIOD 125 CONCLUSION of the CHAPTER 161 PRICES OF WHEAT 163 iv Contents Book II Of the Nature, Accululation, and Employment of Stock Introduction 175 CHAPTER I Of the Division of Stock 177 CHAPTER II Of Money, Considered as a Particular Branch of theGeneral Stock of the Society, or of the Expense of Maintaining the National Capital 182 CHAPTER III Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour 212 CHAPTER IV Of Stock Lent at Interest 225 CHAPTER V Of the Different Employment of Capitals 231 Book III Of the Different Progress of Opulence in Different Nations CHAPTER I Of the Natural Progress of Opulence 245 CHAPTER II Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the Ancient State of Europe, after the Fall of the Roman Empire 249 CHAPTER III Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the Fall of the Roman Empire 257 v The Wealth of Nations CHAPTER IV How the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvement of the country 264 Book IV Of Systems of Political Economy Introduction 275 CHAPTER I Of the Principle of the Commercial or Mercantile System 276 CHAPTER II Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of such Goods can be Produced at Home 291 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 304 PART I – Of the Unreasonableness of those Restraints, even upon the Principles of the Commercial System 304 PART II – Of the Unreasonableness of those extraordinary Restraints, upon other Principles 314 CHAPTER IV Of Drawbacks 322 CHAPTER V Of Bounties 326 CHAPTER VI Of Treaties of Commerce 351 PART I 352 PART II 352 PART III 352 vi Contents CHAPTER VII Of Colonies 359 PART I – Of the Motives for Establishing New Colonies 359 PART II – Causes of the Prosperity of New Colonies 365 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 381 CHAPTER VIII Conclusion of the Mercantile System 415 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 428 Appendix to Book IV 445 Book V Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth CHAPTER I Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth 451 PART I – Of the Expense of Defence 451 PART II – Of the Expense of Justice 462 PART III – Of the Expense of public Works and public Institutions 470 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 471 ARTICLE II – Of the Expense of the Institution for the Education of Youth 493 ARTICLE III – Of the Expense of the Institutions for the Instruction of People of all Ages 510 PART IV – Of the Expense of supporting the Dignity of the Sovereign 527 CONCLUSION 528 vii The Wealth of Nations CHAPTER II Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society 530 PART I – Of the Funds, or Sources, of Revenue, which may peculiarly belong to the Sovereign or Commonwealth 530 PART II – Of Taxes 535 ARTICLE I – Taxes upon Rent — Taxes upon the Rent of Land 537 ARTICLE II – Taxes upon Profit, or upon the Revenue arising from Stock 550 APPENDIX TO ARTICLES I AND II – Taxes upon the Capital Value of Lands, Houses, and Stock 558 ARTICLE III – Taxes upon the Wages of Labour 562 ARTICLE IV – Taxes which it is intended should fall indifferently upon every different Species of Revenue 564 CHAPTER III Of Public Debts 592 INDEX 621 viii Foreword What can The Wealth of Nations teach us today? After all, it was written at the very beginning of the industrial age, in a world where agriculture was the dominant industry and where information travelled only as quickly as the fastest horse or the swiftest sailing boat How, you may ask, can a work about the economics of that age be relevant to today’s post-industrial world, where capitals flows around the world at the touch of a button and where communication travels at the speed of light? Yet The Wealth of Nations tells us as much about the world we live in today as the world in which it was written Adam Smith’s genius was to address the eternal questions: how to increase the wealth of nations and how to improve the prosperity of peoples all over the world His answers were universal too He recognised that it is the freedom to trade and compete that promotes individual interests and which also generates the wealth of nations The truth of this insight has been borne out by over two centuries of evidence - countries that suppress individuals’ freedoms and curtail the operation of the free market are typically much poorer than those that have followed the advice of Adam Smith Adam Smith understood that in a market system, self-interest also serves the wider public interest Giving individuals the freedom to engage in voluntary economic interaction could advance the wider interests of society People work to earn money - which after all, serves their own rational self-interest But in a competitive market, earning money means providing something that others value And thus society as a whole benefits from private enterprise As Adam Smith memorably put it: 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 (pp 9-10) Even today, this advice is ignored The response of too many to globalisation is to erect trade barriers, pass new employment protection laws and try to shut out the market They should listen to the teachings of The Wealth of Nations, which show us that openness to trade benefits all the parties involved - not just the side that currently enjoys a competitive edge As we fight to abolish Western agricultural subsidies, combat economic nationalism in Europe and battle against higher taxation and regulation at home, Smith’s lucid defence of free trade and competition are as powerful as ever Of course, Adam Smith was no utopian He was keenly aware of the limitations of the “invisible hand” – and therefore understood that effective institutional infrastructure is required to ensure the operation of a free and fair market Unfettered markets tended towards monopoly, he wrote, and so proportionate government action is needed to create a clear and stable framework that enables free competition to take place Getting that balance ix ... Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth CHAPTER I Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth 451 PART I – Of the Expense of Defence 451 PART II – Of the Expense of Justice 462 PART III – Of the. .. II – Of the Expense of the Institution for the Education of Youth 493 ARTICLE III – Of the Expense of the Institutions for the Instruction of People of all Ages 510 PART IV – Of the Expense of. .. supporting the Dignity of the Sovereign 527 CONCLUSION 528 vii The Wealth of Nations CHAPTER II Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society 530 PART I – Of the Funds, or Sources, of