SIMILAR BOOKS BY CATEGORY
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Adam Smith
18 pages (2008/1915); 117KB download
WOWIO Books; ISBN: WOWIO-00411
DESCRIPTION
For Adam Smith a nation state was simply the total of the people in it; the state’s wealth was drawn from the labor of its individuals as well as from its natural resources.
In Book IV of his 1776 “Wealth of Nations,” Smith argues for free trade and introduces the notion that many individuals, acting out of their perceived self-interest, are “led by an invisible hand” to promote an end which was not part of their intention. That end generally benefits society as well as individuals, reasons Smith.
This selection shows Smith discrediting the popularly held belief of the 16th-18th centuries that a nation state’s wealth was measured in treasure and bullion and, consequently, state regulation of foreign trade was required to assure a surplus of exports over imports.