Happy hump day! I began my in-depth survey of Adam Smith’s 79-page pamphlet, Additions and Corrections to the First and Second Editions of Dr. Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Smith 1784), way back on 25 June 2026 (see here). Since then, we have carefully combed through Smith’s work line-by-line and paragraph-by-paragraph. Today, eight weeks later (19 August), I will conclude my survey with some final thoughts on this timeless pamphlet as a whole.

To begin, two things about Smith’s 1784 pamphlet strike me as especially noteworthy. One is the fact that Smith was still engaged in scholarly pursuits even after he was appointed to the position of Commissioner of Customs in 1778 and Commissioner of Salt Duties in 1780. The other is how Smith incorporates into various parts of his pamphlet the knowledge he must have acquired as a dual commissioner. But what I find most illuminating of all is Smith’s digression on joint stock companies in the last part of his pamphlet, where the Scottish scholar surveys the leading corporations of his day and diagnoses a potential disease that most large-scale private and public companies share in common: the principal-agent problem. (See here, for example.)

In closing, it’s also worth noting that Adam Smith was writing up his additions and corrections to The Wealth of Nations in 1784 while the French artist Jacques-Louis David was painting his masterpiece, “Oath of the Horatii” (pictured below), in Paris. Like the father of the Horatii brothers, arming his sons for battle against the enemies of Rome, Smith’s pamphlet arms us for battle against mercantilism and the enemies of free markets, for among other things, Smith explores the relationship between wealth and power (here), makes the case for free trade (here), and levels a devastating critique of monopolies (here) and farm subsidies (here). In short, Smith’s additions and corrections are no mere afterthought; they are central to his slam-dunk defense of markets and his overall libertarian project!