Category Archives: Uncategorized

Last weekend, I got to meet a pro-market sociologist, Fabio Rojas (Indiana), as well as the “open borders” advocate Bryan Caplan (George Mason) at the Santa Cruz Economic and Political Forum in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Among the … Continue reading →

Luis Vega is a Bolivian singer and songwriter who originates from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the tropical town where I visited and read Book I of The Wealth of Nations last week. Below is a small sample of his … Continue reading →

I have been reading Book I of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations in the old town of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the lowlands of Bolivia this past week, and I will have much more to say about my … Continue reading →

Chapter 7 of The Wealth of Nations (available here) is a veritable economics tour de force. Among other things, Adam Smith draws a distinction between actual price (or “market price”) and natural price (or what Smith also calls “real price”): … Continue reading →

In Chapter 6 of The Wealth of Nations (available here), Adam Smith writes: “Wages, profit, and rent, are the three original sources of all revenue as well as of all exchangeable value. All other revenue is ultimately derived from some … Continue reading →

Chapter 5 of The Wealth of Nations (available here) draws a distinction between “real” and “nominal” prices. To begin, the “nominal” price of any given good or service is its money price, which can change over time, since the value … Continue reading →

Picking up where we left off, Adam Smith concludes Chapter 4 of The Wealth of Nations (available here) thus: Para. 13a. First, Smith draws a fundamental distinction between use-value and exchange-value: “The word VALUE, it is to be observed, has … Continue reading →

Which came first? Money or the division of labor? Chapter 4 of The Wealth of Nations is devoted to “The Origin and Use of Money,” and in the first part of this chapter (paragraphs 1 to 11, available here), Adam … Continue reading →

The Christmas season might be over and done with in most of the Anglo-American world, but it is just getting started in my beloved Island of Puerto Rico: Three Kings’ Day and “Octavitas” are still around the corner!

Chapter 3 of The Wealth of Nations (available here) is a veritable microcosm of Adam Smith’s genius, another timeless reason why his great work is still worth reading today, 250 years later. Here, Smith not only introduces one of his … Continue reading →