Category Archives: Uncategorized

I will resume my grand series on The Wealth of Nations in my next post; in the meantime, shout out to my daughter Adys Ann for introducing me the music of Laufey!

“The laws concerning corn may everywhere be compared to the laws concerning religion. The people feel themselves so much interested in what relates either of their subsistence in this life, or to their happiness in a life to come, that … Continue reading →

[Alternative title: “The Dearth of Nations: How Government Subsidies Make Us Poorer”] Adam Smith takes dead aim at yet another mercantilist policy in Chapter 5 of Book IV of The Wealth of Nations, a foolish and futile scheme that continues … Continue reading →

“The revenue of excise would in this case, indeed, suffer a little, and that of the customs a good deal more; but the natural balance of industry, the natural division and distribution of labour, which is always more or less … Continue reading →

“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] 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 →