The Wealth of Nations

 

Hello everyone,

This year, I decided to start reading The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith because my economics teacher recommended it. When I first started reading this book, the language was a little confusing to me before I got a grasp and began to understand its content. I thought I could also write about my journey reading this book. On this page, I will be posting my summary of each chapter or two and some takeaways I find useful. Hopefully, I will be able to get all the chapters in by the start of June 2025. If you want to read it, this is a free PDF version of the book: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3300/3300-h/3300-h.htm

Book 1 - Chapter 1 

Summary: 

• book 1 chapter 1 of Wealth of Nations mainly explained the concept of the division of labor: every laborer's task is simplified into one single role they are skilled at to speed up the production process, and save time. 

Notes: 

• The division of labor was an innovative way of improving productivity back in 1776 when this book was written. The era of the 1700s was the period of enlightenment, with new innovations in ideas, technology, and industrialization. It was also the start of the classical economic. Many examples listed in the books have more relevance to the past than the present. 
• The author pointed out that new technology innovation could improve production. I noticed that this point is very timeless. In economics, we learned about the production possibility curve; technology is always one aspect that expands the curve.