Wealth of Nations - ibiblio

1 AnINQUIRY into theNature and Causesof theWealth of Nations Books I, II, III, IV and V Adam Smithpx LibriqyCopyright 2007 Librithis digital editionALL RIGHTS part of this digital edition may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted, in any form, or by any means, eletronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without the prior consent of the copyright holder. Lausanne MelbourneMilan New York S o Paulo29th May 2007 Editorial NoteINthis edition references are made to corresponding pages of the best mod-ern edition ofthe Wealth of Nations : the second volume ofThe GlasgowEdition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith[1].

2 These refer-ences are printed as margin notes. For example, means page 26of the Glasgow Edition .Smith s own footnotes are marked with [Smith] in bold face just beforethe footnote. Paragraph number are printed inside brackets on the leftmargin and the numbering restarts at the beginning of every to this edition can be made in this way:Smith, Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of theWealth of Nations . Edited by S. M. Soares. MetaLibri DigitalLibrary, 29th May LVIOMARCELOSOARESL ausanne, 29th May NoteiiiAdvertisement to the Third Edition2 Advertisement to the Fourth Edition3 introduction and Plan of the Work4 BOOK IOf The Causes of Improvement in the Productive Powers ofLabour.

3 And of the Order According to which Its Produce IsNaturally Distributed Among the Different Ranks of thePeople7 CHAPTER IOf the Division of Labour8 CHAPTER IIOf the Principle which gives occasion to the Division of Labour15 CHAPTER IIIThat the Division of Labour is limited by the Extent of the Market18 CHAPTER IVOf the Origin and Use of Money22 CHAPTER VOf the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or their Price inLabour, and their Price in Money28 CHAPTER VIOf the Component Parts of the Price of Commodities41 CHAPTER VIIOf the Natural and Market Price of Commodities47 CHAPTER VIIIOf the Wages of Labour55 CHAPTER IXOf the Profits of Stock73 CHAPTER XOf Wages and Profit in the different Employments of Labour andStock82 Part arising from the Nature of the Employmentsthemselves83 Part occasioned by the Policy of Europe97 CHAPTER XIOf the Rent of Land117 Part the Produce of Land which always affords Rent119 Part the Produce of Land which sometimes does, andsometimes does not.

4 Afford Rent131 Part the Variations in the Proportion between the respectiveValues of that Sort of Produce which always affords Rent, and ofthat which sometimes does and sometimes does not afford Rent141 Digression concerning the Variations in the Value of Silver duringthe Course of the Four last Centuries143 FIRST PERIOD143 SECONDPERIOD154 THIRD PERIOD155 Variations in the Proportion between the respective Values of Gold andSilver168 Grounds of the Suspicion that the Value of Silver still continues todecrease172 Different Effects of the Progress of Improvement upon the real price ofthree different Sorts of rude Produce173 First Sort173 Second Sort175 Third Sort182 Conclusion of the Digression concerning the Variations in the Value ofSilver190 Effects of the Progress of

5 Improvement upon the real Price ofManufactures194 CONCLUSIONof theCHAPTER198 BOOK IIOf the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock211 Introduction212 CHAPTER IOf the Division of Stock214 CHAPTER IIOf Money considered as a particular Branch of the general Stock ofthe Society, or of the Expense of maintaining the National Capital221 CHAPTER IIIOf the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and UnproductiveLabour258 CHAPTER IVOf Stock Lent at Interest274 CHAPTER VOf the Different Employment of Capitals281 BOOK IIIOf the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations294 CHAPTER IOf the natural Progress of Opulence295 CHAPTER IIOf the Discouragement of Agriculture in the ancient State ofEurope after the Fall of the Roman Empire299 CHAPTER IIIOf the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns after the Fall of theRoman Empire308 CHAPTER IVHow the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvementof the Country317 BOOK IVOf Systems of political conomy327 Introduction328 CHAPTER IOf the Principle of the commercial.

6 Or mercantile System329 CHAPTER IIOf Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of suchGoods as can be produced at Home347 CHAPTER IIIOf the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods ofalmost all Kinds from those Countries with which the Balance issupposed to be disadvantageous363 Part the Unreasonableness of those Restraints even upon thePrinciples of the Commercial System363 Digression concerning Banks of Deposit, particularly concerningthat of Amsterdam368 Part the Unreasonableness of those extraordinary Restraintsupon other Principles376 CHAPTER IVOf Drawbacks385 CHAPTER VOf Bounties390 Digression concerning the Corn Trade and Corn Laws404 CHAPTER VIOf Treaties of Commerce420 CHAPTER VIIOf Colonies430 Part the Motives for establishing new Colonies430 Part of Prosperity of New Colonies437 Part the Advantages which Europe has derived fromthe Discovery of America, and from that of a Passage to the EastIndies by the Cape of Good Hope457 CHAPTER VIIIC onclusion of the Mercantile System498 CHAPTER IXOf the Agricultural Systems.

7 Or of those Systems of PoliticalEconomy which represent the Produce of Land as either the sole orthe principal Source of the Revenue and Wealth every Country514 BOOK VOf the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth535 CHAPTER IOf the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth536 Part the Expense of Defence536 Part the Expense of Justice549 Part the Expense of Public Works and Public Institutions559 Article the Public Works and Institutions for facilitating theCommerce of the Society560 And, first, of those which are necessary for facilitating Commerce ingeneral560Of the Public Works and Institutions which are necessary for facilitat-ing particular Branches of Commerce566 Article the Expense of the Institutions for the Education of Youth587 Article the Expense of the Institutions for the Instruction ofPeople of all Ages608 Part the Expense of Supporting the Dignity of theSovereign629 Conclusion of the chapter630 CHAPTER IIOf the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society632 Part the Funds or Sources of Revenue which maypeculiarly belong to the Sovereign or Commonwealth632 Part Taxes639 Article upon Rent641 Taxes upon

8 The Rent of Land641 Taxes which are proportioned, not to the Rent, but to the Produce ofLand648 Taxes upon the Rent of Houses651 Article upon Profit, or upon the Revenue arising from Stock657 Taxes upon as Profit of particular Employments661 Appendix to Articles I and upon the Capital Value of Land,Houses, and Stock666 Article .Taxes upon the Wages of Labour671 Article .Taxes which, it is intended, should fall indifferently uponevery different Species of Revenue674 Captalization Taxes674 Taxes upon consumable Commodities676 CHAPTER IIIOf Public Debts707 Appendix741 ReferencesIANINQUIRYINTO THEN ature and CausesOF THEWEALTH Edition of the following Work was printed in the end of the1[ 1 ]year 1775, and in the beginning of the year 1776.

9 Through the greaterpart of the Book, therefore, whenever the present state of things is men-tioned, it is to be understood of the state they were in, either about thattime, or at some earlier period, during the time I was employed in writingthe Book. To this third Edition, however, I have made several additions,particularly to the chapter upon Drawbacks, and to that upon Bounties;likewise a new chapter entitled,The Conclusion of the Mercantile System;and a new article to the chapter upon the expences of the sovereign. Inall these additions,the present state of thingsmeans always the state inwhich they were during the year 1783 and the beginning of the presentyear the Third theFourth EditionINthis fourth Edition I have made no alterations of any kind.

10 I now, how-2[ 1 ]ever, find myself at liberty to acknowledge my very great obligations toMr. Henry Hope of Amsterdam. To that Gentleman I owe the most dis-tinct, as well as liberal information, concerning a very interesting and im-portant subject, the Bank of Amsterdam; of which no printed account hadever appeared to me satisfactory, or even intelligible. The name of thatGentleman is so well known in Europe, the information which comes fromhim must do so much honour to whoever has been favoured with it, andmy vanity is so much interested in making this acknowledgement, that Ican no longer refuse myself the pleasure of prefixing this Advertisement tothis new Edition of my and Plan of the labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies3[ 1 ]