edThe Condensed Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments
Eamonn Butler

www.adamsmith.org

The Condensed Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments
Eamonn Butler

The Adam Smith Institute has an open access policy. Copyright remains with the copyright holder, but users may download, save and distribute this work in any format provided: (1) that the Adam Smith Institute is cited; (2) that the web address adamsmith. org is published together with a prominent copy of this notice; (3) the text is used in full without amendment [extracts may be used for criticism or review]; (4) the work is not re–sold; (5) the link for any online use is sent to info@adamsmith.org. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any views held by the publisher or copyright owner. They are published as a contribution to public debate. © Adam Smith Research Trust 2011 Published in the UK by ASI (Research) Ltd. ISBN: 1–902737–77–6 Some rights reserved Printed in England

Contents
1 Introduction 2 The Condensed Wealth of Nations Book I: Economic efficiency and the factors of production Book II: The accumulation of capital Book III: The progress of economic growth Book IV: Economic theory and policy Book V: The role of government 3 The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments 4 Further reading 9 32 42 47 59 77 84 4 7

1 Introduction

Adam Smith’s pioneering book on economics, The Wealth of Nations (1776), is around 950 pages long. Modern readers find it almost impenetrable: its language is flowery, its terminology is outmoded, it wanders into digressions, including one seventy pages in length, and its numerous eighteenth-century examples often puzzle rather than enlighten us today. And yet, The Wealth of Nations is one of the world’s most important books. It did