
On The Wealth of Nations
A Book that Shook the World
P. J. O'Rourke(Author)
Atlantic Books (Publisher)
Published on 12. July 2007
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-84354-388-6 (ISBN)
Description
Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations was first published in 1776 and almost instantly it was recognized as fundamental to an understanding of economics. It was also recognized as being really long and as P. J. O'Rourke points out, to understand The Wealth of Nations, the cornerstone of free-market thinking and a book that shapes the world to this day, you also need to peruse Smith's earlier doorstopper, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. But now you don't have to read either, because P. J. has done it for you.
In this hilarious work P. J. shows us why Smith is still relevant, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and how the division of labour, freedom of trade and pursuit of self-interest espoused by Smith are not only vital to the welfare of mankind, they're funny too. He goes on to establish that far from being an avatar of capitalism, Smith was actually a moralist of liberty. As P. J. says, 'It's as if Smith, having proved that we can all have more money, then went on to prove that money doesn't buy happiness. And it doesn't. It rents it.'
In this hilarious work P. J. shows us why Smith is still relevant, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and how the division of labour, freedom of trade and pursuit of self-interest espoused by Smith are not only vital to the welfare of mankind, they're funny too. He goes on to establish that far from being an avatar of capitalism, Smith was actually a moralist of liberty. As P. J. says, 'It's as if Smith, having proved that we can all have more money, then went on to prove that money doesn't buy happiness. And it doesn't. It rents it.'
Reviews / Votes
"'O'Rourke is a wonderful stylist... This book is well worth reading.' New York Times"More details
Series
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 242 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84354-388-6 (9781843543886)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2009
Atlantic Books
€11.49
Available for download
Person
P. J. O'Rourke is the bestselling author of thirteen books, including Eat the Rich, Give War a Chance, and The CEO of the Sofa. He is a regular correspondent for Atlantic magazine.