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“There is no commercial country in Europe of which the approaching ruin has not frequently been foretold by the pretended doctors of this system [i.e. mercantilism/protectionism] from an unfavourable balance of trade. After all the anxiety, however, which they have … Continue reading →

🐎 Happy Lunar New Year! 🐎 Tucked in between Parts 1 and 2 of Chapter 3 of Book IV of The Wealth of Nations is Adam Smith’s “Digression concerning Banks of Deposit, particularly concerning that of Amsterdam” (available here). But … Continue reading →

To my North American readers, 🇺🇸 Happy Presidents’ Day 🇺🇸! Now, let’s pick up where we left off, with Chapter 3 of Book IV of The Wealth of Nations. Recall that Adam Smith launches an all-out, no-holds-barred attack on mercantilism … Continue reading →

I will resume my series on The Wealth of Nations on Monday. In the meantime, Saint Valentine’s Day is just as good as any to revisit my work on the alleged “lost loves” of Adam Smith, including my blog post … Continue reading →

As I mentioned in my previous two posts, Adam Smith’s famous “invisible hand” appears but once in the entire Wealth of Nations: in Book IV, Chapter 2. Is this magical hand a mere metaphor, a pious acknowledgment of divine benevolence, … Continue reading →

Thus far this week (see here, here, and here), we have surveyed Book IV, Chapter 1 of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Next up, then, is Chapter 2, which is titled “Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of … Continue reading →

Adam Smith concludes Book IV, Chapter 1 of The Wealth of Nations by highlighting two major geographical discoveries that “happened much about the same time”: the discovery of America by Columbus and the discovery of a passage to the East … Continue reading →

I concluded my previous post with a question, Doesn’t the government need to maintain a positive balance of trade as well as a large amount of gold and silver reserves for national security reasons, i.e. to finance naval fleets and … Continue reading →

“It would be too ridiculous to go about seriously to prove that wealth does not consist in money, or in gold and silver; but in what money purchases, and is valuable only for purchasing.” (WN, IV.i.17) In a letter Adam … Continue reading →