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The Wealth Of Nation Chapter Summary

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Homo sapiens are organisms of miracle. Not only can we perform multiple tasks, but we are blessed with the ability to learn multifarious skills, improvise and make things we need. But the above are just so disposable a quality as compared to our human nature. Adam Smith gave us an insight to human nature – the nature which induces our predecessors to start forming the society we are in – “the propensity to truck barter, and exchange one thing for another” (The Wealth of Nation, Book I, Chapter II, p.141). The nature is of paramount importance in which it guided the human race to divide its labour. Why is the nature importance? Despite our ingenuity, we would spend much time in acquiring the skills to create necessity in our life. We would spend our whole life to master hunting, and probably growing crops, but still having a difficulty in scrapping a livelihood, not to mention enjoying life were we not to exchange with the others. It is impossible for us to expect others to give us things out of benevolence, nor is it possible for us to gain friendship with all the personnel who can give us assistance (The Wealth of Nation, Book I, Chapter II, p.142). People give us the commodity not out of their benevolence, but self-interest. By exchanging, and only by doing so, can the …show more content…

Differentiating the work into18-distinct operations caused them to be four thousand eight hundred more efficient then having a team each one doing all the operations (The Wealth of Nation, Book I, Chapter I, p.136), therefore showcasing the increment in quantity of work and efficiency of work. Adam Smith also outlined the three major reasons causing the advantages of division of labour: (1) improved dexterity of the worker, (2) saving of time as individuals do not have to move from a place to another to perform different tasks, and (3) the application of machinery enabled due to the breaking down of the

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