Thread by @adamsmithworks

OMG, it’s the Conclusion of the Digression concerning the Variations in the Value of Silver!! (with bonus digression about 🐄🐄💩 that digressed from the digression on silver.) (I.xi.n) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

We have to stop thinking about national wealth in terms of the amount of gold and silver we have. Precious metals are just one kind of commodity. (I.xi.n.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

(And if the past 65 pages didn't convince you, says Smith, you just wait til Book IV.) (I.xi.n.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

It's true that the quantity of silver went up and so did manufacturing and agricultural production, but it's just coincidence. New mines in America have nothing to do with good governance that encourages industry (and through it, wealth). (I.xi.n.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

You get a clearer picture of a nation’s wealth if you look at the price of things like 🐄🐄:🌽. That can tell you how much land is cultivated, how productive that land is, etc. Gold and silver just tell you how many mines there are. (I.xi.n.2–3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

If the price of silver controlled the price of all other provisions, their prices would stay the same relative to each other. That doesn’t happen, so we know it’s not true. (I.xi.n.4) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Face it, it’s just wrong wrong wrong to think the value of silver has been dropping consistently over time. (I.xi.n.9) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Not only is it wrong, it’s a “vain and useless distinction” because changing prices could be a rise in the value of the things silver is buying or a decline in value of silver. Knowing which it is STILL won’t help you buy stuff. (I.xi.n.9) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

You can, however, sometimes see that a rise in the price of provisions is spurred by real improvements in cultivation and fertility of land. That’s useful and satisfying to know! And...it's why you should care about RENT! (I.xi.n.9) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

When value of silver drops and prices of provisions rise, you can also use that information to raise wages so your workers don’t suffer. (I.xi.n.10) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Meat prices go up and vegetable prices go down. 🐄🐄 produce 💩 which produces more fertile land and more veggies. It’s the circle of 💩 again! (I.xi.n.10) #CircleOfPoop #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

If we are worried about the poor, and we should be, we should worry more about taxing manufactured commodities than we should about the price of 🌽 OR the price of silver. (I.xi.n.11) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

And we hereby conclude the conclusion of the Digression on Silver! But we’re not done yet! There are 15 more pages before the end of the chapter. Tune in tomorrow for all the hottest 18th C news about wool and wheat! (I.xi.n) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets