Smith - La Riqueza De Las Naciones

ADAM SMITH

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
GENERAL EDITORS

R. H. CAMPBELL
AND

A. S. SKINNER
TEXTUAL EDITOR

W. B. TODD

VOLUME

x

INDIANAPOLIS

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_t

i[I39] Of the Principle

CHAPTER of the commercial,

I or mercantile System 1

i THATwealth consists in money, or in gold and silver, is a popular notion which naturally arises fromthe double function of money, as the instrument of commerce, and as the measure of value. 2In consequence of its being the _. instrument of commerce, when we have money we can more readily obtain whatever else we have occasion for, than by means of any other commodity. i The great affair, we always find, is to get money. When that is obtained, there is no difficulty in making any subsequentpurchase. In consequence :_ of its being the measure of value, we estimate that of all other commodities by the quantity of money which they will exchange for. We say of a rich man that he is worth a great deal, and of a poor man that he is worth very little money. A frugal man, or a man eager to be rich, is said to love money; and a careless, a generous, or a profuse man, is said to be indifferent aboutit. To grow rich is to get money; and wealth and money, in short, are, in common language, considered as in every respect synonymous. 3 2 A rich country, in the same manner as a rich man, is supposed to be a country abounding in money; and to heap up gold and silver in any [r4o ] country is supposed to be the readiest way to enrich it. For some time after the discovery of America, the firstenquiry of the Spaniards, when they arrived upon any unknown coast, used to be, if there was any gold or silver to be found in the neighbourhood? By the information which they received, they judged whether it was worth while to make a settlement there, or if the country was worth the conquering. Piano Carpino, a monk sent ambassador from the king of France to one of the sons of the famous Gengis Khan,says that the Tartars used frequently to ask him, if there was plenty of sheep and oxen in the kingdom of France?4Their enquiry had the
a The thesis that opulence does not consist in money is examined in LJ (A) vi.xz7-7x, LJ (B) 244-70, ed. Cannan x9o-zx I, and ED 4.6-xo. While there are differences of detail, all three versions follow a similar plan: The statement of the mercantile fallacy isfollowed by an appreciation of paper money (see above, II.ii) before proceeding to review the errors of the system in practice, e.g. the prohibition of the export of bullion, the doctrine of the balance of trade, the thesis that intervention will upset the natural balance of industry (see for example, IV.ii.3). In each case, Smith also emphasized the benefits of free trade and highlighted theproblems of national animosity, in a manner which is reminiscent of Hume. In both ED and LJ (B) the critique of Law's Mississippi Scheme is included as a part of the general critique of the mercantile system, i.e. treated as one of the errors to which it had given occasion. See above, II.ii.78. The subjects of this particular chapter are considered in LJ (A) vi.x27-46 and bJ (B) 244-56, ed. Carmanx9o-zoo. 2 See below, IV.i.x. _ This is explained above, I.v.6. 4 Cannan has noted that there may be a confusion between Piano Carpini, sent as a legate by Pope Innocent IV in x246, and Guillaume de Rubruquis, sent as ambassador by Louis IX in x253. Cannan also observes that both are mentioned in N. Bergeron's Voyages faits principaleraent en Asie darts les Md., xiii., xiv., et xv. rih¢les(La Haye,x735).

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The Nature and Causes of

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same object with that of the Spaniards. s They wanted to know if the country was rich enough to be worth the conquering. Among the Tartars, as among all other nations of shepherds, who are generally ignorant of the use of money, cattle are the instruments of commerce and the measures of value. Wealth, therefore, according to them, consisted in...