The origin of all economic thought
A classic among classics that serves as a starting point for new ideas
The only complete single-volume translation in Korea

『The Wealth of Nations』 is a book that provides not only economic insights but also information on various fields such as philosophy, politics, history, religion, education, and culture.
Set against the backdrop of important events such as the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), which was an international war, and the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), this book contains humanistic insights into how national wealth accumulates, flows, and changes history, along with Smith's system of thought, giving it the feel of a comprehensive humanities book.
In that sense, this book clearly shows the perspective of the greatest intellectual of the 18th century, who attempted to observe the world with an objective perspective.


Smith argued that a free economy is one in which differences in talent arise through division of labor and mechanization, and these are traded through peaceful and rational exchange in the market.
It was believed that when humans faithfully practice self-love, the 'invisible hand' works and the common good of society is powerfully promoted.
According to the author, national wealth increases with labor input, technology, and efficiency.
That is, the more products a country and individuals produce, the richer the country is.
It is common sense now, but in the mercantilist era of Smith's time, when the accumulation of gold and silver was considered the core of national wealth, it was a new and revolutionary idea.


『The Wealth of Nations』 consists of five volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 are economic theories, Volume 3 provides an overview of the history of industrial development since Rome, Volume 4 criticizes the economic theories of mercantilism and physiocracy, and Volume 5 describes the expenses and sources of revenue (taxes and public bonds) required for state administration and judicial administration, and even covers law and political science.


In publishing 『The Wealth of Nations』 for the 53rd time, Hyundai Jisung Classics not only translated the entire, complex and complex original text written 250 years ago in an easy and clear manner, but also polished it to a level of readability that even young people can follow if they set their mind to it.
With hundreds of helpful footnotes for deeper understanding, and a high-quality explanation of the historical background and author, it becomes a book that you can “read from start to finish.”
You will understand why Elon Musk, famous for leading the times and thinking strategically, praised it highly, saying, “This is the best book I have ever read!”

Everyone knows how much labor can be made easier and less laborious by the use of appropriate machinery.
Specific examples are unnecessary.
Therefore, what I want to say here is that the invention of all machines that have made labor so easy and reduced labor time was originally thanks to the division of labor.
People are more likely to find ways to achieve their goals more easily and smoothly when they focus their minds entirely on a single object than when they are distracted by a vast array of other things.
As a result of the division of labor, everyone naturally focuses their attention on one very simple goal.
Therefore, people working in each particular field of labor will soon find ways to make their work easier and more smooth if their work allows for such improvements.
This is something anyone can naturally predict.
Most of the machines used in manufacturing, where labor is extremely specialized, were originally invented by ordinary workers performing very simple tasks.
They naturally turned their thinking to making the task easier and more smooth.
Anyone who has visited manufacturing sites frequently has undoubtedly seen many impressive machines.
Such machines were invented to help workers perform specific areas of their work more easily and quickly.
The first steam engines required a boy to open and close the passage between the boiler and the cylinder, constantly watching the piston rise and fall.
However, a boy who liked to play with his friends attached a rope to the valve handle that opened this passage and connected it to another part of the machine, and discovered that the valve opened and closed by itself without anyone watching, and he naturally started using it.
Of course, by doing so, the boy was free to play with his friends.
One of the greatest improvements ever made after the invention of the steam engine was due to the ingenuity and discovery of a boy who sought to lessen his own labor in this way.
---From "Volume 1, Chapter 1, Division of Labor, p. 26 | Invention of Machines to Assist Labor"

As Thomas Hobbes said, wealth is power.
However, a person who acquires or inherits a great fortune does not necessarily acquire or inherit any political power, whether civil or military.
His wealth may provide him with the means to acquire both powers, but simply possessing vast wealth does not necessarily give him power.
What power does immense wealth immediately and directly give him? It is the purchasing power to buy things.
That is, the power to control all labor or all labor products on the market at any given time.
The amount of wealth a man has is proportional to the size of his purchasing power, and also to the amount of other people's labor, or what is the same thing, the product of other people's labor, which he can purchase or seize with his wealth.
The exchange value of any thing is always exactly equal to the degree of this power it gives to its owner.
Although labor is the true standard of exchange value for all commodities, commodity value is often not measured in terms of labor.
Determining the ratio between two different types of labor is sometimes tricky.
Because you can't determine this ratio based solely on the time you spend on two different things.
It is imperative to consider the extent to which the hardships endured by workers and the ingenuity displayed differ.
An hour of hard work may involve more labor than two hours of easy work, or an hour of labor in a trade that takes ten years to learn properly may involve more labor than a month of labor in a common and easy trade.
However, finding criteria that accurately measure difficulty or originality is not easy.
In reality, these two factors are taken into account to some extent when different goods produced by different types of labor are exchanged.
However, it is not adjusted to an exact scale, but rather according to market conditions or negotiations.
This adjustment is driven by a desire to achieve some degree of equilibrium by weighing the labor involved in the two goods.
Even though it may not be 100% accurate, it is a fairness that is acceptable enough for carrying out daily tasks.
---From "Volume 1, Chapter 5, Real and Nominal Prices of Commodities, or Labor Prices and Money Prices of Commodities, pp. 50-51"

But this is a completely different story from the circumstances of the majority of workers.
In contrast, workers who are paid generously by the day often end up ruining their health and body within a few years due to overwork.
In London and some other places, a carpenter cannot maintain peak vitality for more than eight years.
A similar phenomenon occurs in many other occupations where workers are paid by the day, and overwork occurs in contract work (contracts made on a per-piece basis) where wages are higher than the prevailing wage, even in manufacturing and even agricultural work.
Almost every class of craftsman is so absorbed in his own peculiar work that he develops peculiar diseases.
The renowned Italian physician Ramazzini wrote a special book on this type of disease.
We don't think soldiers are the most diligent of people.
When soldiers are employed for a certain type of work and receive generous wages on a contract basis, officers are obliged to agree with the employer that they cannot earn more than a certain amount each day.
Before these regulations were established, soldiers were often overworked by their competition with one another and their desire for greater profits, and such excessive work often damaged their health.
If you work too hard for four days a week, you have a direct need to rest and replenish your energy for the remaining three days.
Then people will complain loudly and vociferously, saying that they have been idle for three days.
So, what's really good is to consistently do a moderate amount of work throughout the week while getting adequate rest.
After several days of intense physical or mental exertion, most people feel the need to take a break.
Such a desire is almost unstoppable unless it is forced from outside or suppressed by some powerful need.

---From "Volume 1, Chapter 8, Labor Wages, pp. 110-111 | The more advanced a society, the happier its workers."

Some people with small incomes retire from business and invest their small capital in land, believing that land is the safest place.
Professionals who earn their income from other sources also often prefer to invest their money safely in the same way.
Another young man, instead of entering a trade or profession, might buy land with a capital of two or three thousand pounds and cultivate it himself, and hope to live a happy independent life.
In this case, the young person must give up any hope of acquiring great wealth or becoming successful.
If he had invested that capital in another business, he might have achieved success like others.
Some young people also often despise the life of a farmer because they do not want to become landowners.
Therefore, land is not readily available on the market, and even if it is available, it is expensive, so those who purchase land do not invest a lot of money in cultivating or improving the land.
If the circumstances had not been like that, we would have definitely moved towards land improvement.
In North America, on the other hand, 50 to 60 pounds is enough capital to start a farm.
Whether small or large, the most profitable business there is to purchase and improve uncultivated land.
In that region, farming is the fastest route to wealth and success.
In North America, there is land that is practically free, and land that can be purchased for less than its natural value.
This is impossible in Europe, and even more so in countries where all land is private property.
However, if a landowner with many children dies and the land needs to be divided equally among his children, the land is usually put up for sale.
If a lot of this land comes onto the market, it can no longer be sold at monopoly prices.
The fair rent for land will approach the interest on the purchase price, and purchasing land with a small capital will yield returns no less than any other investment.
---From "Volume 3, Chapter 4: How Urban Commerce Contributed to National Development, pp. 471-472 | Capital Investment: A Comparison of North America and Europe"

But while the prosperity of neighboring countries may be dangerous in the realms of war and politics, it is very beneficial in the realm of trade.
When we are at war, if our neighboring country is rich, it will maintain a stronger navy and army than ours.
But in times of peace and commerce, the prosperity of neighboring countries creates better markets, as they enable us to exchange goods of greater value with them.
It is to create a market where the direct products of our country's labor or other goods purchased with those products are exchanged.
For those who work to produce goods, rich neighbors are likely to be better customers than poor neighbors.
The same goes for rich countries.
Of course, a rich man who is also a manufacturer is the most dangerous neighbor to those in the same industry.
But there are far more neighbors who don't, and these people benefit from a good market where the rich pay for it.
They even profit by selling poor workers for cheap in the same way.
In the same way, manufacturers in rich countries can become very dangerous rivals to manufacturers in neighboring countries.
However, competition among manufacturers is beneficial to the public.
The public benefits greatly from the good markets provided to them by the large expenditures of these countries.
Individuals who want to make money never think of going to the poor remote areas of the country, but instead go to the capital or to the bustling commercial cities.
They intuitively know that big money cannot be made where big money does not circulate.
You have to go where there is a lot of money going around so that some of it can fall to you.
This principle is the force that moves one, ten, and twenty people, and at the same time, it is the force that supports the judgment of one million, ten million, and twenty million people.
Moreover, the nation should look at the wealth of other countries according to that principle and think that such wealth can be a cause for increasing the wealth of our own country.
A country that seeks to become wealthy through foreign trade is more likely to become wealthy if its neighbors are all wealthy, have diverse industries, and prosperous commerce.
A great nation surrounded by wandering barbarians and impoverished savages can only grow rich through the cultivation of its land and domestic commerce, and cannot increase its wealth through foreign trade.
Ancient Egypt and modern China acquired great wealth in this way.
The ancient Egyptians were known to have disregarded foreign trade, and the modern Chinese are also known to have extremely low regard for it.
The principles of modern mercantilism aim to impoverish neighboring countries.
If that principle had its desired effect, commerce with neighboring countries would be viewed with petty contempt.

---From "Volume 4, Chapter 3: Emergency Measures Restricting Imports of Almost All Goods from Countries with Unfavorable Trade Balances," pp. 554-555 | "Our Country Will Be Prosperous Only When Our Neighboring Countries Are Prosperous"