Adam Smith

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in the area of market behavior, Adam Smith believed that the availability and cost of labor, rather than the seasonality of weather, contributes to the overall economic picture in his assertion that "labor, not nature, was the source of value." The author points out that, in the area of wealth distribution, Smith was not nearly as interested in the rise of this middle class of shopkeepers as in his promoting the idea that entire nationals can profit. The paper relates that, in the area of future growth, Smith believed that everybody gradually became better off as the division of labor increased and made the community wealthier.

Table of Contents
The Behavior of the Market
Income Distribution
Future Growth

From the Paper:

"It seems obvious, then, that the look into the future was one of constant (and perhaps consistent) pessimism for Ricardo who saw the "wealth" of the nation as being the land, and the land's productivity being stretched thinner and thinner, and the results becoming more expensive. For Smith, he tended to perhaps overlook this struggle of land, landlord and a rising bourgeoisie in favor of the greater good for the greatest number of people in the long run. Ricardo's future sees the capitalist as being squeezed on two fronts: higher wages to be paid to the workers, and second having to pay increased rent for the land, because land has become dearer."

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