# An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

**Author:** Adam Smith
**Tags:** Economics
**Price:** Free
**Formats:** DOCX, EPUB, FB2, PDF, TXT
**Downloads:** 25
**Added:** 10.07.2026
**URL:** https://samolit.com/books/95904

## Description

Published in 1776, this landmark treatise by Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith stands as one of the founding texts of modern economics. Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish professor, economist, and philosopher and a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, and this expansive work represents his most influential contribution to human thought. Structured across five books, it systematically examines the mechanisms driving national prosperity, from the division of labor and the origins of money to the accumulation of capital, systems of political economy, and public finance. Smith famously argues that individuals pursuing their own self-interest within a free market unintentionally benefit society as a whole, a concept later popularized as the "invisible hand." Challenging the mercantilist orthodoxy of his era, he advocates for free trade, limited government intervention, and the power of competitive markets to allocate resources efficiently. Blending rigorous analysis with vivid historical examples, the book laid the intellectual groundwork for classical economics and continues to shape debates on capitalism, trade policy, and the proper role of government in economic life more than two centuries after its original publication.