The Wealth of Nations cover art

The Wealth of Nations

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of 900K+ titles.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto-renews for $8.99/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Wealth of Nations

Written by: Adam Smith
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.76

Buy Now for $33.76

About this listen

The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words. Smith details his argument in five books:

  • Book I. Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Power of Labour
  • Book II. Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock Introduction
  • Book III. Of the Different Progress of Opulence in Different Nations
  • Book IV. Of Systems of Political Economy
  • Book V. Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth

Taken together, these books form a giant leap forward in the field of economics. A product of the "Age of Enlightenment," The Wealth of Nations is a must for all who wish to gain a better understanding of the principles upon which all modern capitalistic economies have been founded and the process of wealth creation that is engendered by those principles.

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor Classics Economics Ideologies & Doctrines Political Science Politics & Government World Socialism Capitalism Taxation Money Business Employment French Revolution Imperialism Banking Middle Ages Latin America United Kingdom Africa Economic disparity Law US Economy Self-Determination Economic Philosophy
All stars
Most Relevant
I was amazed at the level of contemporary insight such an old writing could have. Despite being close ro 300 years old, most of the concepts are very relevant today. Even sone forgotten truths that would be good for out governments to relearn. A bit wordy, long and maybe a bit too many stats, but good all the same.

Insightful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
it is hard to provide a useful review of such a great classic. one can only read it.

this is a long undertaking however as it is a massive tour de force and the many many ideas included should be thoroughly digested. unfortunately, most who "quote" Smith have never read him and probably don't understand his arguments at all.

this book is an attempt, using the best evidence of the day, to assess why some countries were poor (despite, like Spain, having control of much of the world's gold supply) and others rich. the tables of numbers don't matter so much today as the theory of the cases involved. one can find similar cases with tables of data in the modern day.

using examples from his time, he discusses topics with current importance including monetary theory, the value of banks, the gold standard vs paper money, international trade balances, trade unions, industrial and land cartels, why owning gold mines is often a bad investment, and human liberty itself.

often it is clear that we have not learned from the lessons of this book at all.

brilliant and still relevant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was recommended to me by someone. It was much easier to follow and understand than I expected, given its age. A great many of the concepts and ideas are still relevant today. It's also an interesting window into the historical period in which it was written.

I was surprised how much of this is still relevant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Groundbreaking book, the bible of free market classical economics. Smith will forever be remembered as a genius.

The goat!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a long book coming in at around 36hrs but worth the listen and would highly recommend

a must!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.