Great Books IV Study Questions for Assignment 5 Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, book 1, chapters 1-9 Adam Smith - 1723 - 1790 Adam Smith's grave marker

FIRST, read these two concise articles (from Bartleby, and from MSN Encarta) on Mercantilism, the common European economic system of the 16th-18th centuries in reaction against which Smith is writing. SECOND, read the "Introduction and Plan of the Work", on pgs. lix-lxii. (If you have the Modern Library edition, you might also read the brief summary of the book that begins on the bottom of pg. xxxv and ends at the top of pg. xxxvii.) THIRD, plunge into Smith. Be prepared to identify the main point(s) in each chapter and discuss how they are organized into the whole argument of the book. For example: Chapter 1 Explain the concept of "division of labor." Use Smith's pin analogy. What are the three circumstances which give the division of labor its great advantage, and what gives rise to each of the three? What gives rise to "the universal opulence of a well-governed society"?

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