The Wealth of Nations · Chapter
Book I: Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Powers of Labour explained
This book examines the factors that enhance labor productivity, particularly the division of labor, and explains how the produce of labor is naturally distributed among the different ranks of society.
What happens
This book examines the factors that enhance labor productivity, particularly the division of labor, and explains how the produce of labor is naturally distributed among the different ranks of society.
Themes in this chapter
Division of Labor
Central theme of Book I, exploring how specialization improves productive powers.
Social Class and Inequality
Discusses the natural distribution of produce among different ranks of people.
Characters to notice
- Adam Smith
Author and primary expositor of the principles discussed in Book I.
Key passages
“Of the causes of improvement in the productive powers of labour, and of the order according to which its produce is naturally distributed among the different ranks of the people.”
This book explores what makes labor more productive and how the resulting goods are shared among social classes.
Opening statement of Book I, setting the scope for the entire volume.