Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
Add The Wealth of Nations to bookshelf
Add to Bookshelf

Reading Guide

The Wealth of Nations

By Adam Smith
Introduction by Robert B. Reich

By Adam Smith
Introduction by Robert B. Reich

By Adam Smith
Introduction by Alan B. Krueger

By Adam Smith
Introduction by Alan B. Krueger

By Adam Smith
Edited by Edwin Cannan

By Adam Smith
Edited by Edwin Cannan

By Adam Smith
Introduction by Robert B. Reich

By Adam Smith
Introduction by Robert B. Reich

Best Seller

Part of Modern Library Classics

Paperback $20.00

Nov 14, 2000 | ISBN 9780679783367

Mass Market Paperback $9.99

Mar 04, 2003 | ISBN 9780553585971

Hardcover $31.00

Jan 25, 1994 | ISBN 9780679424734

Ebook $7.99

Nov 01, 2000 | ISBN 9780679641926

All Formats
+
    The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
    Ebook
    Nov 01, 2000 | ISBN 9780679641926

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (3) +
    • $20.00

      Nov 14, 2000 | ISBN 9780679783367

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • $9.99

      Mar 04, 2003 | ISBN 9780553585971

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • $31.00

      Jan 25, 1994 | ISBN 9780679424734

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Nov 01, 2000 | ISBN 9780679641926

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Buy the Ebook:

    About The Wealth of Nations

    Adam Smith’s 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 Reich’s Introduction both clarifies Smith’s analyses and illuminates his overall relevance to the world in which we live. As Reich writes, “Smith’s 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

    About The Wealth of Nations

    The Wealth of Nations
    by Adam Smith

    It is symbolic that Adam Smith’s masterpiece of economic analysis, The Wealth of Nations, was first published in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence.

    In his book, Smith fervently extolled the simple yet enlightened notion that individuals are fully capable of setting and regulating prices for their own goods and services. He argued passionately in favor of free trade, yet stood up for the little guy. The Wealth of Nations provided the first–and still the most eloquent–integrated description of the workings of a market economy.

    The result of Smith’s efforts is a witty, highly readable work of genius filled with prescient theories that form the basis of a thriving capitalist system. This unabridged edition offers the modern reader a fresh look at a timeless and seminal work that revolutionized the way governments and individuals view the creation and dispersion of wealth–and that continues to influence our economy right up to the present day.

    About The Wealth of Nations

    First published in 1776, The Wealth of Nations is generally regarded as the foundation of contemporary economic thought. Adam Smith, a Scottish professor of moral philosophy, expounded the then-revolutionary doctrine of economic liberalism. The book’s importance was immediately recognized by Smith’s peers, and later economists have shown an unusual consensus in their admiration for his ideas. 

    Combining economics, political theory, history, philosophy, and practical programs, Smith assumes that human self-interest is the basic psychological drive behind economics and that a natural order in the universe makes all the individual, self-interested strivings add up to the social good. His conclusion, that the best program is to leave the economic process alone and that government is useful only as an agent to preserve order and to perform routine functions, is now known as laissez-faire economics or noninterventionism. 

    In noting for the first time the significance of the division of labor and by stating the hypothesis that a commodity’s value correlates to its labor input, Smith anticipated the writings of Karl Marx. Like Marx’s Das Capital and Machiavelli’s The Prince, his great book marked the dawning of a new historical epoch. 
     

    About The Wealth of Nations

    Adam Smith’s 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 Reich’s Introduction both clarifies Smith’s analyses and illuminates his overall relevance to the world in which we live. As Reich writes, “Smith’s 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

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by Adam Smith

    The Theory of Moral Sentiments
    The Wealth of Nations
    The Wealth of Nations
    See all books by Adam Smith

    Also by Adam Smith

    The Theory of Moral Sentiments
    The Wealth of Nations
    The Wealth of Nations
    See all books by Adam Smith

    Also by Adam Smith

    The Theory of Moral Sentiments
    The Wealth of Nations
    The Wealth of Nations
    See all books by Adam Smith

    Also by Adam Smith

    The Theory of Moral Sentiments
    The Wealth of Nations
    The Wealth of Nations
    See all books by Adam Smith

    Product Details

    Category: Economics | Classic Nonfiction | Colonial/Revolutionary War History

    Paperback | $20.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Nov 14, 2000 | 1184 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780679783367

    Category: Economics | Classic Nonfiction | Colonial/Revolutionary War History

    Mass Market Paperback | $9.99
    Published by Bantam Classics
    Mar 04, 2003 | 1264 Pages | 4-3/16 x 6-7/8 | ISBN 9780553585971

    Category: Economics | Classic Nonfiction | Colonial/Revolutionary War History

    Hardcover | $31.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Jan 25, 1994 | 1200 Pages | 5-3/8 x 8 | ISBN 9780679424734

    Category: Economics | Classic Nonfiction | Colonial/Revolutionary War History

    Ebook | $7.99
    Published by Modern Library
    Nov 01, 2000 | 1200 Pages | ISBN 9780679641926

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Praise

    "Adam Smith’s 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

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read

    Today's Top Books

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

         An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook