The Wealth of Nations

It is hard to understate how revelatory The Wealth of Nations was when it was published in 1776 — a time when popular conceptions of the good society left very little room for commerce or self-interest, and international trade was assumed to be a zero sum game. Adam Smith’s book was a crucial factor in changing all of this. He was successful to such an extent that many of his arguments today are somewhat unremarkable and obvious.