The Wealth of Nations could be a good read for someone interested in economic theory and the foundations of capitalism. It offers insight into the concept of division of labour and its impact on economic growth. However, it also delves into the social consequences of unregulated business enterprise and the benefits of economically unproductive labour. Overall, it provides a nuanced understanding of the complex relationships between economics, society, and progress.

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Author: Adam Smith
Publisher: Penguin Books
Condition: Soft Cover, Well Read, Foxing and scuffs on the front and back cover

By pin-pointing the 'division of labour' as a major explanation of economic growth, Adam Smith laid the foundations of economic theory in general and of 'classical' economics in particular. But Andrew Skinner shows in his introduction to this edition that the real sophistication of The Wealth of Nations lies less in its overall picture of a vast analytical system - a capitalist economy - in which all the parts can be seen simultaneously interacting with each other. Moreover, he stresses that Smith's view of society was mot a merely economic one, and that The Wealth of Nations is for from being an apologia for unregulated business enterprise: Smith was at pains to show that economic advance can have undesirable social consequences, and that labour which is economically unproductive can be beneficial to society at large.

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