Improvements make things cheaper, but they also raise the rent of land, which makes landlords richer, and lets them purchase more labor. Neglect and decay, though, make everyone poorer. (1.xi.p.2–6) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
Smith says landowners won't mislead the public about what’s in the public interest, because their interest aligns with the public interest. Also they're lazy and kind of dumb, because they don't have to do anything to make their money. (I.xi.p.8) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
The kerfuffle over the Enclosure Acts might have given him second thoughts. (1.xi.p.8) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
Laborers suffer the most when a society is in decline. But they are incapable (‽‽‽‽‽) of understanding how they are tied to society at large. (1.xi.p.9) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
Employers are the odd ones out here. Their wealth is not tied to the flourishing of their society. Profits are highest in a declining society, and lowest in a flourishing one. (1.xi.p.10) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
These merchant types (unlike landlords) are very savvy, but only about their specific area, not about the good of society as a whole. (1.xi.p.10) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
Merchants want a big market with no competition. As our pal @sghorwitz says, “No one hates capitalism more than a capitalist.” So you should be super suspicious of any new laws they want to pass(1.xi.p.10) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
We’re not so sure landowners are that pure of heart, laborers are that simple-minded, or merchants are that nasty. But we’ve got four more books to go, so we’ll see! #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
And just in case you didn’t get enough of the Digression on Silver (you remember the Digression on Silver, don’t you?) here are 8 solid pages of charts on the price of wheat over time. We...are gonna let you guys annotate that on your own. (1.xi.p) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
What? Oh, all right. Fine. 🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰. Happy? We’ll see you tomorrow. SmithTweeters out! #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
BUT WAIT! A SmithTweeters work is never done! That wasn't just the conclusion of chapter 11. It was the end of Book One!
What'd we learn?
1) The division of labor. It matters! 2) Wealth comes from land, the use of resources, and labor. 3) Not everything is about precious metals.
(Except the 65 pg Digression on Silver. That's about precious metals. And poop.) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
First! A quick review: without division of labor, every person must provide everything they need. No one accumulates or stores up stock. You do what you can with what you have when you have it. (II.intro.1) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
But once the division of labor develops (remember, it’s the secret sauce!) we have so many wants that we can’t provide for them all ourselves. Most of them are provided for by others, and we purchase their labor with our own. (II.intro.2) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
Improvements make things cheaper—better machinery, higher skilled labor, better division of labor all drive prices down. (1.xi.o.1) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
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
The third sort of rude produce is the kind where human attempts to cultivate and improve it produce unpredictable results. Examples include wool and animal hides. (I.xi.m.1) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
It seems like the price of these should rise right along with the price of meat, but Smith says “Not so fast!” (I.xi.m.3) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
The second kind of rude produce is the kind humans can produce more of in response to demand. This includes stuff like sheep, 🐄🐄, and fruits & veg that farm well.(I.xi.l.1) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
We don’t bother to cultivate this stuff until we reach a certain level of wealth because it reproduces well on its own. But as we get wealthier, we want more stuff and can pay for it, so it’s profitable to herd and farm these things. (I.xi.l.1) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
Look, we aren’t complaining. We are TeamSmith. But we just want to mention, in passing, that this whole next section of #WealthOfNations is basically a Digression on the Digression on Silver. You only THINK it's about farming.(I.xi.j–m) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets
When Smith says “rude produce” he doesn’t mean vegetables that question your life choices. He means plant and animal products that don’t need much technical processing to be useful. (I.xi.j) #WealthOfTweets#SmithTweets