Adam Smith Wealth of Nations

Author of the Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith is the author of the Wealth of Nations which was one of the most influential economic literature of all times. Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations because he was bored. Adam Smith 's Wealth of Nations was published in 1776 when Adam Smith was 53.

Two years after Adam Smith had left for France, Smith returned to Scotland where he lived contentedly for the next ten years, sharing a house with his mother, and working to finish The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith' s The Wealth of Nations was published in 1776, which was the same year the American Revolution kicked off.

Nothing could have been more appropriate. Among the many ideas in the book was Adam Smith's statement that the colonies, since they were dissatisfied with British taxation laws and restrictions of their trade, should be allowed to form their own nation. He said: "By thus parting good friends, the natural affection of the colonists to the mother country would quickly revive. It might dispose them to favor us in war as well as in trade, and instead of turbulent and factious subjects, to become our most faithful and generous allies."

Adam Smith also predicted that the colonies would someday be one of the wealthiest, most powerful nations of the world. But his writing on America was but a fraction of the book. The bulk of it was dedicated to a lengthy analysis of the meaning of wealth, and the forces, which either inhibit or contribute to the growth of a nation's economy.

Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations

When David Hume received a copy of Adam Smith 's new book, The Wealth of Nations, he wrote back: "Beautiful! Dear Mr. Smith: I am much pleased by your performance, and the perusal of it has taken me from a state of great anxiety. It was a work of so much expectation, by yourself, by your friends, and by the public, that I trembled for its appearance, but now I am much relieved." Being, however, a very candid friend, he also added: "If you were here at my fireside, I should dispute some of your principles."

The acceptance of the Wealth of Nations by the public

Smith's friends and his wide circle of admirers admired the Wealth of Nations but it took a few more years before it gained acceptance by the public. Even though the Wealth of Nations went through five different editions in Smith's lifetime, its major influence on economic policy didn't occur until the early 1800's. One critic heralded the book as something that "would persuade the present generation and govern the next," a prediction that wasn't far off the mark.