Here we go! Tweeting our way through #WealthOfNations! It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so be sure to stretch, stay hydrated, and keep a steady pace. #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

That’s one heck of a first sentence, Dr. Smith. No dithering here. The division of labor is the secret sauce that increases productivity. (I.i.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
We always forget the pin factory comes this early and that Smith looks at it not because pins are important (though they are!) but because it’s a small industry that you can look at all at once.(I.i.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
How many pins can the SmithTweeters make in a day? How bad do you want them to be? (I.i.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Do you think the pin guys were all “Dude, we let you observe our work, told you how many pins in a pound, showed you every step in the process...and you call us a ‘trifling manufacture’? Not cool, Smith!” (I.i.4) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Agricultural work can’t be as improved by the division of labor as other work, so it’s less likely to make a nation wealthy. Modern mechanization of farming may have changed this, but there’s no escaping the seasonal nature of the work. (I.i.4) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Okay, we are from the Midwest so we were startled to learn that when Smith talks about corn he means “the main cereal crop of a particular place.” Could be wheat, oats, or whatever. He’s not talking about corn on the cob. (I.i.4) #OhioProblems #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Division of labor improves productivity 3 ways. (I.i.5–8) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

1.We get good at one thing. (SmithTweeting!)
2.We don’t have to switch tasks. (It's why we don’t RousseauTweet...or is it?)
3.We make better machinery. (Hand delivering tweets? Exhausting!)
Should we be sorry for or proud of the kid who was so smart that he invented his way out of a job? (I.i.8) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
A little shade, a little praise. It’s Smith on philosophers!. They don’t exactly DO anything, but they see the connections between things that other people don't. (I.i.9) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Division of labor means we all get more productive, which means (if our society is well governed, which is a very big 𝐢𝐟, we know) we all get better off, even the least well off among us. That’s the secret sauce.(I.i.10) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
WE LOVE THIS PART! 😍 The magic of the market: turning division of labor into worldwide cooperation among strangers to produce a woolen coat. People who see markets as only cutthroat competition need more Smith and need this bit specifically. (I.i.11) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

More from @AdamSmithWorks

The great thing about #AdamSmith is that when he's about to go off on a 65 page tangent, he warns you. Humans, we bring you the DIGRESSIONS ON SILVER! #OhLawdHeComin #WealthOfTweets

Oh King Edward III, it’s adorable that you think you can just decree that servants and laborers become permanently content with wages fixed at the rate they were at five years ago.
https://t.co/NtOmttquJ3 (I.xi.e.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


He’s already digressing, and he can’t take a minute to share the menu from that famously magnificent feast with us? (I.xi.e.4–5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Super Important 18thC Vocab Geekery: When Smith says the price of the quarter of wheat wasn't “supposed to be < 4 oz silver” he doesn’t mean “shouldn't be.” He means “wasn't thought to be.” He’s not approving of fixed prices. (I.xi.e.7) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

So. Many. Wheat. Prices. (But really, Smith is talking about how much wheat it takes to buy a quantity of silver, NOT how much silver it takes to buy a quantity of wheat.) (I.xi.e.1–14) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
OK. Chapter 7 of Book 4 of #WealthOfNations is tough going. It's long. It's serious. It's all about colonies.

We can take comfort, though, in knowing that the chapter #AdamSmith says is about colonies is, in fact, about colonies. (IV.vii) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


Colonies were a vexed subject when #AdamSmith was writing, and they’re even more complicated now. So, before we even get to the tweeting, here’s a link to that thread on Smith and “savage nations.” (IV.vii) #WealthOfTweets


The reason for the ancient Greeks and Romans to settle colonies was straightforward: they didn’t have enough space for their growing populations. Their colonies were treated as “emancipated children”—connected but independent. (IV.vii.a.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

(Both these things are in contrast to the European colonies, as we'll see.) (IV.vii.a.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Ancient Greeks and Romans needed more space because the land was owned by an increasingly small number of citizens and farming and nearly all trades and arts were performed by slaves. It was hard for a poor freeman to improve his life. (IV.vii.a.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

More from Society

You May Also Like

This is NONSENSE. The people who take photos with their books on instagram are known to be voracious readers who graciously take time to review books and recommend them to their followers. Part of their medium is to take elaborate, beautiful photos of books. Die mad, Guardian.


THEY DO READ THEM, YOU JUDGY, RACOON-PICKED TRASH BIN


If you come for Bookstagram, i will fight you.

In appreciation, here are some of my favourite bookstagrams of my books: (photos by lit_nerd37, mybookacademy, bookswrotemystory, and scorpio_books)