An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Title
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Description
Published in 1776 by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations continues to be a seminal piece of classical economics. Smith’s contributions, however, went far beyond the scope of the classical school of thought, defining the very parameters of any discussion of the modern political economy. In fact, Marx’s famous Capital is best understood as a response to Smith and his contemporaries. The Wealth of Nations structured the modern political economy by shaping its civil institutions and informing the discourse that surrounds it.
It is important to situate Smith’s works within the broader developments of the late eighteenth century. As a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith observed a very changing economic landscape in which the introduction of new production methods facilitated an accumulation of capital that was truly unprecedented at the time. Reconsidering the role of government became a chief concern of classical economists, with Smith developing a laissez-faire approach that limited the scope of the state apparatus in commercial activities. Although Smith often approached economics at its most aggregate level, he often considered the role of the industrial laborer, saying that "his dexterity at his own particular trade seems, in this manner, to be acquired at the expence of his intellectual, social, and martial virtues. But in every improved and civilized society this is the state into which the labouring poor, that is, the great body of the people, must necessarily fall, unless government takes some pains to prevent it."(Smith, 302). Even in Smith's works the commoner is taken to be a central agent to the modern economy. It was this “Smithian” ideology that would come to dominate economic thought for centuries to come.
It is important to situate Smith’s works within the broader developments of the late eighteenth century. As a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith observed a very changing economic landscape in which the introduction of new production methods facilitated an accumulation of capital that was truly unprecedented at the time. Reconsidering the role of government became a chief concern of classical economists, with Smith developing a laissez-faire approach that limited the scope of the state apparatus in commercial activities. Although Smith often approached economics at its most aggregate level, he often considered the role of the industrial laborer, saying that "his dexterity at his own particular trade seems, in this manner, to be acquired at the expence of his intellectual, social, and martial virtues. But in every improved and civilized society this is the state into which the labouring poor, that is, the great body of the people, must necessarily fall, unless government takes some pains to prevent it."(Smith, 302). Even in Smith's works the commoner is taken to be a central agent to the modern economy. It was this “Smithian” ideology that would come to dominate economic thought for centuries to come.
Creator
Adam Smith
Source
Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations , 1856. University of Edinburgh. https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/9200271/BibliographicResource_3000058904375.html?q=An+Inquiry+into+the+Nature+and+Causes+of+the+Wealth+of+Nations
Smith, Adam. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Volume 3. G. Walker, 1822.
Date
March 1776
Contributor
Zach Irvin
Rights
Free Use CC BY
Citation
Adam Smith, “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” HIST 139 - Early Modern Europe, accessed April 26, 2026, https://earlymoderneurope.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/193.