Introduction to Wealth of Nations

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Let's start off by looking at
the introduction to the book

which is only a few short pages.

This, of course, is Smith,

and it's going to be very clear
from the very beginning of this work

that Smith has intended a work
which is quite special

and also comprehensive
in what it will cover.

He starts off with the question:

"What accounts for
the productivity of a nation?"

And for Smith, it boils down
to two things.

The first is what he calls

"the skill, dexterity,
and judgment of labour,"

and the second is the proportion
of the workforce

"employed in useful labour."

Of these two factors,

he stresses that the skill, dexterity,
and judgment of labour

is by far the most important,

and it's where he'll be focusing
most of his attention.

Smith then goes on to make
another central point of importance

for economic reasoning,

namely that policy really matters

and that the productivity of labour

will depend a great deal
upon national policy.

Finally, we get an overview
of what is to come

in the rest of the work.

The first four books of the work

will consider what Smith calls
"the revenue of the people,"

and the last book
will consider what he calls

"the revenue of the sovereign."

With the stage set,
let's now turn to "Division of Labour."

Transcriber: Michel Smits
Reviewer: Maurício Kakuei Tanaka