The Wealth of Nations written by Adam Smith, an Englishman, is called the study of the nature and causes of national wealth. The first edition of this book was in 1776, the year when the American Declaration of Independence was published. In the development of capitalist society, The Wealth of Nations has played an important role in promoting it. Max Lerner, editor of The Wealth of Nations, commented: "This book is a strange mixture of economics, philosophy, history, political theory and practical plans, written by people with profound knowledge and bright insight. This person has a strong analytical ability and can filter out all the materials in the notebook; Smith was extremely sensitive to all kinds of ideas in the academic field at that time, because he had strong comprehensive ability and was able to recombine these ideas in new and striking ways. Like Marx later, he was not an isolated scholar in his own home. He seems to have an antenna all over his body, which can receive and absorb all the information he can touch. He wrote at the end of the disintegration of feudal Europe and the beginning of the modern world. In this world, the feudal system still stubbornly exists, which is often shown by vested interest groups. He wrote a letter against such interest groups. As a result, his books were not only written for library shelves, but also had a far-reaching impact on economic views and national policies, forming the whole living environment in which we live today. "
The last question to be answered by Smith in The Wealth of Nations is how the internal struggle between feelings and "just bystanders" plays a role in the long-term evolution of society. The answer to this question can be found in the fifth part. He listed four main organizational stages of social development, which will continue unless they are stopped by lack of resources, war or bad government policies. These four stages are: the initial "savage" stage of hunters, the second stage of primitive agriculture, the third stage of feudal or manor "farming" and the fourth stage of commercial interdependence. Each stage has a system that adapts to its needs. For example, in the hunter stage, "there is no property … therefore, there is no established chief executive or formal judicial administration". With the emergence of cattle and sheep, more complex forms of social organization have emerged, including not only the "terrible" army, but also the indispensable fortress of public security. The core of Smith's thought is that this system is a tool to protect privileges and cannot be defended by natural law. He said, "the civilian government was set up for the safety of property, but in fact it was set up to protect the rich from the poor, that is, to protect those who have some property from those who have no property at all." Finally, Smith described this evolution as a social stage from feudal system to new system, which was determined by the market rather than trade associations, and was free rather than restricted by the government. This was later called laissez-faire capitalism and Smith called it a completely free system. This constant change of the material production base will inevitably change the superstructure, which is obviously similar to the Marxist view of history. But there is also a major difference: the ultimate driving force in the Marxist system is class struggle, while in the history of Smith's philosophy, the main driving mechanism is "humanity", which is driven by the desire for self-improvement and guided by reason. (Personally, this is consistent with the conclusion of my book Why I Don't Believe in Capitalism. Class struggle is a force of social retrogression and a destructive force. )
The Wealth of Nations is far from being an academic paper. Although Smith also persuaded laissez-faire, his argument was more against government intervention and monopoly; Although he praised the results of greed, he almost always despised the actions and strategies of businessmen. Nor does he think that the business system itself is entirely commendable.