Adam Smith: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Volume II

Edited by William Playfair

William Playfair

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781040248652
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Economics

First published in 1776, The Wealth of Nations is one of the great works of economic thought and a touchstone that has influenced generations of economists across the intervening centuries. The 1805 Playfair edition that is presented in this volume represents the first and most important early critical edition. Praised by Francis Ysidro Edgeworth for its 'acute criticism', the Playfair edition was the first to apply economic history to Smith's economic theory — raising issues which are still important in light of the 225 years of revolutions and inflations that have occurred since his death.The period between the original publication and 1805 saw an enormous development in Britain's wealth, the French Revolution, and rapid American and French inflation. William Playfair wrote insightful supplementary chapters and notes to discuss the aspects of these upheavals which he thought Smith would have wanted to address had he lived to see their effects. The edition reproduces the exact text from the corrected and expanded 1784 third edition, including the index, with Playfair's chapters and notes marked clearly as supplementary additions.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Advertisement to the Third Edition
• Table of Contents
• Book II
• Chap. III: Of the Accumulation of Capital, of productive and unproductive Labour
• Chap. IV: Of Stock lent at Interest
• Chap. V: Of the different Employment of Capitals
• Book III: Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations.
• Chap. I: Of the natural Progress of Opulence
• Chap. II: Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the ancient State of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire
• Chap. III: Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the Fall of the Roman Empire
• Chap. IV: How the Commerce of the Towns contributed to the Improvement of the Country
• Book IV: Of Systems of political Oeconomy.
• Introduction
• Chap. I: Of the Principal of the Commercial, or Mercantile Sy/lem
• Chap. II: Of Restraints upon the Importation from foreign Countries of such Goods as can be produced at Home
• Chap. III: Of the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods of almost all Kinds, from those Countries with which the Balance is supposed to be disadvantdgeous
• Part I. Of the Unreasonableness of those Restraints even, upon the Principles of the Commercial System
• Digression concerning Banks of Deposit, Particularly concerning that of Amsterdam
• Part II. Of the Unreasonableness of those extraordinary Restraints upon other Principles
• Chap. IV: Of Drawbacks
• Chap. V: Of Bounties
• Digression concerning the Corn Trade and Corn Laws
• Supplementary Chapter: On the Commerce of Grain, Monopolies, and Forestalling (by the Editor)
• Chap. VI: Of Treaties of Commerce
• Supplementary Chapter: On Treaties of Commerce (by the Editor)
• Chap. VII: Of Colonies
• Part I. Of the Motives for establishing new Colonies
• Part II. Causes of the Prosperity of new Colonies
• Part II. Of the Advantages which Europe has derived from the Discovery of America, and from that of a Passage to the East Indies by the Cape cf Good Hope
• Chap. VIII: Conclusion of the Mercantile System