The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (English) Paperback Book

Description: The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Robert B. Reich Includes notes, commentary, and an introduction by Robert Reich. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Now in a beautifully coordinated Modern Library Classics edition.Adam Smiths masterpiece, first published in 1776, is the foundation of modern economic thought and remains the single most important account of the rise of, and the principles behind, modern capitalism. Written in clear and incisive prose, The Wealth of Nations articulates the concepts indispensable to an understanding of contemporary society; and Robert Reichs Introduction both clarifies Smiths analyses and illuminates his overall relevance to the world in which we live. As Reich writes, "Smiths mind ranged over issues as fresh and topical today as they were in the late eighteenth century-jobs, wages, politics, government, trade, education, business, and ethics."Introduction by Robert Reich .Commentary by R. H. Campbell and A. S. Skinner .Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide Author Biography Robert Reich is Chancellors Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include The Work of Nations, Reason, Supercapitalism, and Aftershock. Review "Adam Smiths enormous authority resides, in the end, in the same property that we discover in Marx: not in any ideology, but in an effort to see to the bottom of things."--Robert L. Heilbroner Review Quote "Adam Smiths enormous authority resides, in the end, in the same property that we discover in Marx: not in any ideology, but in an effort to see to the bottom of things." --Robert L. Heilbroner Discussion Question for Reading Group Guide 1. Many of the concepts developed by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations -the nature of free trade, laissez-faire, the division of labor-were revolutionary notions in 1776, and remain central to contemporary liberal economic thought. Discuss contemporary economics in light of some of the key notions elaborated by Smith. 2. Smith famously writes: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love. . . ." What does Smith mean by "self-love" or "self-interest"? 3. As R. H. Campbell and A. S. Skinner write, The Wealth of Nations "was not only an intellectual achievement . . . embracing as it does the explanation of complex social relations on the basis of a few principles, but also a work which provided practical prescriptions for the problems of the day." Discuss these aspects of Smiths work-analytical and prescriptive or historical; what is their relation? Is the one necessary for an appreciation of the other? 4. In his Introduction to this volume, Robert Reich notes that " The Wealth of Nations is resolutely about human beings-their capacities and incentives to be productive, their overall well-being, and the connection between productivity and well-being." How does this statement, taken as a point of departure, shed light on Smiths book and its significance? 5. Although he is considered the founder of political economy (or modern economic thought more generally), Adam Smith considered himself a moral philosopher. How does looking at him in this way-as someone fundamentally concerned with questions of ethics-change your understanding or appreciation of his work? Excerpt from Book moFrom the introduction by Robert Reich Adam Smiths ideas fit perfectly with this new democratic, individualistic idea. To him, the "wealth" of a nation wasnt determined by the size of its monarchs treasure or the amount of gold and silver in its vaults, nor by the spiritual worthiness of its people in the eyes of the Church. A nations wealth was to be judged by the total value of all the goods its people produced for all its people to consume. To a reader at the start of the twenty-first century, this assertion may seem obvious. At the time he argued it, it was a revolutionary democratic vision. Smith was born in 1723, in the small Scottish port of Kirkcaldy, which sits across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh. His father was a collector of customs--a job that literally embodied the old mercantilist philosophy that Smith would later argue against. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, whose professors passionately debated the new concepts of individualism and ethics (one of his teachers, Francis Hutcheson, was prosecuted by the Scottish Presbyterian church for spreading the "false and dangerous" doctrines that moral goodness could be obtained by promoting happiness in others and that it was possible to know good and evil without knowing God), and then at Oxford, whose professors didnt debate or teach much of anything. In fact, the lassitude of Oxfords dons prompted Smith to suggest, in The Wealth of Nations, that professors be paid according to the number of students they attract, thereby motivating them to take a more lively interest in teaching--one of Smiths few suggestions with which todays tenured professors of economics generally disagree. In 1748 Smith returned to the University of Glasgow, first as a professor of logic and then of moral philosophy, filling Francis Hutchesons chair. There he published The Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759, which brought him instant fame. In it, Smith asked how a normal self-interested person is capable of making moral judgments, when the essence of morality is selflessness. It was a question that troubled many of the new thinkers of the eighteenth century, who had liberated themselves from both theology and codes of aristocratic or chilvaric virtue. Smiths answer foreshadowed Sigmund Freuds superego: People possess within themselves an "impartial spectator" who advises them about moral behavior. Smith resigned his professorship in 1764 to become tutor to the son of the late Duke of Buccleuch. The boys mother, Countess of Dalkeith, had just remarried Charles Townshend, one of Smiths many admirers, who later became Britains chancellor of the exchequer, and was responsible for imposing the taxes on the American colonies that prompted some Bostonians to throw large quantities of tea into Boston Harbor. For the next two years, Smith traveled throughout the Continent, beginning work on the book that was to become The Wealth of Nations. He visited Voltaire in Geneva, and in Paris met Fran Details ISBN0679783369 Author Robert B. Reich Pages 1184 Language English ISBN-10 0679783369 ISBN-13 9780679783367 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 330.153 Year 2000 Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Alternative 9789626348642 Birth 1723 Death 1790 Short Title WEALTH OF NATIONS-ML MOD LIB P Edition Description Mod Lib PB Residence US Edition New edition Imprint Modern Library Inc DOI 10.1604/9780679783367 UK Release Date 2000-11-14 AU Release Date 2000-11-14 NZ Release Date 2000-11-14 US Release Date 2000-11-14 Publisher Random House USA Inc Series Modern Library Classics Publication Date 2000-11-14 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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