Analytic Summary of The Wealth of Nations

In The Wealth of Nations, Book III: Of the Different Progress of Opulence in Different Nations, Adam Smith blends economics with history to explain why some societies grow wealthy faster than others. He contrasts the "natural order" of development—where agriculture comes first, then industry, and finally trade—with the historical reality of Europe, where commerce and towns often advanced before the countryside. With sharp insight, Smith shows how feudalism held agriculture back, how urban privileges both distorted and stimulated growth, and how commerce eventually spread prosperity, order, and good government throughout Europe. This book is not only an economic treatise but also a story of human institutions: how freedom in towns challenged feudal lords, how merchants turned capital into land improvements, and how trade became a civilizing force. For readers who want to understand the deep roots of modern prosperity and the historical forces that shaped Europe's rise, this book offers both wisdom and narrative power.

Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish economist, philosopher, and key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, widely regarded as the "Father of Economics" and "Father of Capitalism." Educated at the University of Glasgow and Balliol College, Oxford, he became a professor of moral philosophy before publishing his groundbreaking works. His first major book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), explored human ethics, sympathy, and social behavior, while his most influential work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), laid the foundations of modern economic thought by introducing concepts such as the division of labor, free markets, and the "invisible hand." Smith's ideas profoundly shaped economic policy and philosophy, making him one of the most influential thinkers in history.