"The first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (PMM)
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Smith, Adam.
London: A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1786.
Price:
$7,500.00
About the item
Fourth edition. viii, 499, [1]; vi, 518, [6]; [v], iv-v, [1], 465, [1], [50]pp. 3 vols. 8vo. Contemporary speckled calf, red morocco lettering pieces, minor wear at extremities, joints cracked but cords holding. Provenance: Townley Clarkson (18th century signature and inscription). Goldsmiths' 13148; Kress B.1129; Tribe 30; Vanderblue, p. 3. See Printing and the Mind of Man 221.
Item #378965
"Where the political aspects of human rights had taken two centures to explore, Smith's achievement was to bring the study of economic aspects to the same point in a single work. The Wealth of Nations is not a system, but as a provisional analysis it is completely convincing. The certainty of its criticism and its grasp of human nature have made it the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (PMM).
The fourth edition, just the second octavo edition overall, is a reprint of the important third edition with only minor variations. All lifetime editions of Wealth of Nations are desirable.
"The Wealth of Nations had no rival in scope or depth when published and is still one of the few works in its field to have achieved classic status, meaning simply that it has sustained yet survived repeated reading, critical and adulatory, long after the circumstances which prompted it have become the object of historical enquiry" (ODNB).
