Smith's The Wealth of Nations demonstrates in detail and rigorously how to increase national wealth and promote economic development and prosperity from different aspects of productivity and production relations. He adopted the macro-analysis method based on micro-economic analysis, and integrated the analysis perspectives of human nature theory, legal and political theory and economic thought theory, forming a complete economic theory system.
Based on the division of labor theory of emerging classical economics, this paper analyzes the decisive factors of division of labor, and further analyzes how to choose the optimal division of labor network in underdeveloped areas with different economic strengths at different stages by combining the theory of emerging classical division of labor and new institutional economics, and analyzes the internal reasons for the slow economic development in central and western China.
Adam. Smith talked about the division of labor at the beginning of The Wealth of Nations. He believes that the division of labor and market competition are two indispensable aspects for the increase of national wealth. However, during the economic development of 100 years, the theory of market competition has been greatly enriched, but the theory of division of labor is relatively pale. The emerging classical economics, which developed rapidly in recent years, revived Smith's important thought on division of labor by using the method of ultra-marginal analysis.
The theory of division of labor in emerging classical economics holds that division of labor is determined by both institutional arrangements and transaction costs, that is, institutional arrangements determined by transaction costs determine division of labor, and division of labor improves institutional benefits through division of labor economy, thereby reducing transaction costs. The author gives two theoretical models and their corrections.
Then, the author proves three important propositions in the theory of division of labor.
Proposition 1: the division of labor produces increasing returns to scale, which is the source of economic progress.
Proposition 2: Division of labor depends on division of labor, and simple division of labor without any exogenous advantages can also achieve economic progress.
Proposition 3: Economic development depends on a certain population size and economic system, and it is a wave-like process in geography.
In addition, the emerging classical division of labor theory proves that different regions have different growth effects at different stages of economic development, corresponding to different levels of division of labor. Therefore, in the face of different population size, system supply and traffic conditions, underdeveloped areas should choose different modes of division of labor. Based on this, the author divides the underdeveloped areas into three categories and analyzes their respective division of labor.
Regional model 1: underdeveloped areas with large population and dense residence.
According to Proposition 2, even if such areas do not have any superior resource endowment or comparative advantage, they can rely on their own market demand and choose the appropriate division of labor mode to achieve economic progress.
The author thinks that this kind of region should be subdivided into several sub-regions, and related industries should be classified and clustered to develop "park economy" in order to save transaction costs, improve the level of specialization, and then produce industrial clusters.
Regional model 2: underdeveloped areas with large population and scattered residence.
This kind of area is represented by the agricultural provinces in central and western China. Because most residents are located in the vast rural areas, the transportation is inconvenient, the cost of trade transactions between them is high, the cost of institutional innovation is higher, and the level of institutional supply is low. The urgent task is to improve the level of specialization in order to connect with the advanced division of labor network.
There are two ways to improve the level of market division of labor. First, vigorously develop small and medium-sized towns, improve the level of urbanization, and make the population more concentrated, thus reducing transaction costs and institutional innovation costs. The focus of government work is to encourage specialized production and services and provide services for the growth and development of individual and private enterprises. According to the proposition 1, even if the government intends to support some industries, it should choose a division of labor network with agricultural products as the core on the basis of specialization.
The second is to integrate into the division of labor network in the surrounding areas, that is, to "work" for developed areas. Because in the early stage of economic development or industrialization, there is not enough material capital and human capital to pay the transaction cost and learning cost, and it is difficult to bear the cost of population concentration caused by urbanization. However, the labor cost in such areas is relatively low, and neighboring areas with resource endowment or endogenous comparative advantages can be selected to provide supporting production or services. It is worth noting that it is necessary for the government to encourage the professional development of enterprises, strengthen the exchange of information and elements between enterprises through industrial agglomeration, and improve the management quality of entrepreneurs.
Regional model 3: underdeveloped areas with small population
Such areas have a small population, and it is theoretically difficult to form a satisfactory division of labor network independently, regardless of whether they are concentrated or not. The most important thing is to improve the professional level of some aspects in this region in order to integrate into the advanced division of labor network in developed regions. After accumulating a certain amount of material capital and human capital and improving the economic environment, we can gradually get rid of the dependence on geographical traffic conditions in the division of labor network, so as to gradually trade with other regions with higher division of labor. In this process, the government should focus on supporting leading enterprises with certain comparative advantages or competitive advantages, encourage leading enterprises to merge and expand, and drive other enterprises to form chain effect and learning effect.
The Wealth of Nations is a great work. Adam Smith harmoniously unified human self-interest and public interest, making us know that self-interest and public interest are not contradictory, but complementary, which is conducive to the progress and development of the whole society. Society naturally has an "invisible hand" to guide people to make the best choices that are beneficial to society and individuals. No government or individual will replace this "invisible hand". If we want to replace this "invisible hand", it will definitely bring chaos. What is this "invisible hand"? Although Smith did not express it directly, the whole book has told us that the "invisible hand" is human egoism.
When I opened The Wealth of Nations, my mind was in a daze. Looking at so many dense words, I always feel dizzy.
Anyway, I read it, and I was deeply touched. Adam Smith was an economist in the18th century, so when we look at his The Wealth of Nations, we must of course start from his time. No matter what he said is right or from whose perspective, I understand many economic factors and conditions at that time, which reminds me of the development history of the national economy when I look at today's economy. It should be said that Adam Smith is great. His theory of labor creating value and social division of labor make us intuitively understand the history of social and economic development. At this point, we can't look at Adam Smith critically. It should be said that every viewpoint is based on the knowledge of predecessors, and Adam Smith's viewpoint is no exception. However, it reminds me that some scholars today are not trying to put forward their views, but trying to sort out their views. Without textual research, you think you have achieved a lot and can't wait to publish it. I admire the spirit of Adam Smith. Why did Adam Smith have only one achievement in his life? It is not that Adam Smith lost his energy after writing this book, but that his academic attitude is very serious. On his deathbed, Adam Smith asked others to destroy all the manuscripts except The Wealth of Nations in order not to make his half-baked views public.
After reading the whole article, I can't help but admire the author's unique insights and profound knowledge. It is precisely because there are many great men like Smith that our society can make continuous progress and development. As the masters of the new century, why can't we inherit and carry forward?
extreme
The first time I saw this book, I was shocked when I only read the first chapter about the division of labor. I hated each other until very late. This idea came into being more than 200 years ago, which gave me a deeper understanding of western countries. Its idea is worth learning. One of the 100 books that have influenced human culture really deserves its reputation. It turns out that many of the contents we are learning now have existed in the west hundreds of years ago. I read Marx's Das Kapital, and I really admire some concepts of Marx's value labor market. Ha ha. I think Marx absorbed Adam Smith's ideas.
/kloc-the 0/7th century was the first industrial revolution, and it was also when Adam Smith wrote this book. The first industrial revolution ended the long-standing traditional agricultural society and entered the modern society. Before that, it was usually by human hands and simple tools.
Productivity is extremely low. With the development of the whole society, the pace of life is very slow, and people's thoughts are relatively stagnant.
The typical representative of the first industrial revolution was the steam engine, with more modern tools, such as trains, ships and steam pumps.
Machines have greatly improved productivity. A large number of factories began to appear. So far, the pace of development in the world has obviously accelerated and made great progress. And people's thinking has also made great progress, and Newton and many other great figures of that era have emerged.
Adam Smith's far-reaching thoughts came into being under this background, and his views had a considerable impact on the first industrial revolution.
Britain, known as the empire that never sets, has a much higher ideological level and productivity than other countries at that time. Its comprehensive national strength is unparalleled. No wonder it is called the empire of the sun never sets. It is one-sided to simply say that Britain's wealth is entirely based on the blood and sweat of plundering the colonial people.
What about China at that time? It was the Qing Dynasty, and it was still far from invention. Manchu is a riding and shooting nation on the grassland, and its knowledge is relatively primitive. I think horses were the best means of transportation at that time, and horses were enough. Although the invention of gunpowder and artillery only has some military advantages, social progress needs more advanced ideas and technology.
Technology can improve productivity, so can ideas. It is very likely that its influence is far greater than that of technology. Thought and technology should be mutual, and the progress of thought can promote technology.
Conversely, the development of technology can also promote the progress of ideas. For example, the concept of division of labor, Adam gave a good example of needle manufacturing. One person pulls the wire, one person straightens it and one person cuts it.
One person sharpens one end of the thread, and the other person grinds the thread to fit the round head. It takes two or three different operations to make a round head. Fitting round heads, painting them white, and even packing them are all specialized occupations.
In this way, the manufacture of pins is divided into eighteen processes, the number of which is far higher than the number of all processes completed by each person alone.
Adam Smith systematically put forward the concept of division of labor in 1773, which is 236 years ago. In fact, the concept of division of labor existed unconsciously before Adam Smith put forward it. Only there is no systematic science to put forward the concept of division of labor. Now it is common in all organizations of society. It can be said that the division of labor has changed the world.
Division of labor has many advantages:
First, the improvement of a worker's proficiency will inevitably increase his workload and improve production efficiency.
Secondly, it often takes some time to change from one job to another, and the benefits gained by saving this time are much greater than what we first thought. This can greatly reduce the pressure on management.
Third, it is easier to invent new machines. After the division of labor, we will consider how to simplify the labor in a certain link and reduce human factors by using appropriate mechanical energy. According to Adam, the invention of machinery may also be caused by the division of labor.
Division of labor can greatly improve productivity and produce new ideas. Even now, government agencies, scientific research institutions, enterprises, organizations, military systems and educational institutions all have division of labor among organizations. In the future, the division of labor will occupy an important leading position. With advanced ideas and advanced technology, social progress and development will come naturally. The strength of a country depends largely on its ideas and technology, and ideas are more important.
The Wealth of Nations was written by the British economist Adam Smith in 1776. This book is known as the bible of western economics. I found it a little hard to read, and it took me a long time to finish reading, so I wrote my own humble opinion accordingly. The Wealth of Nations is divided into five parts. Adam Smith lived at the turning point of two eras. He spoke loudly about the neo-liberal economic principles and was inevitably attacked by the old forces. However, his labor theory of value has played an indelible role in the development of the history of human thought, and his economic thought has become one of the precious spiritual wealth of mankind, and his theory has influenced the growth of several generations. A famous economist gave a general evaluation of the author Adam Smith-perhaps no contemporary work has had such a far-reaching impact on scientific and economic thought and administrative management system as The Wealth of Nations. We have reason to believe that his work will continue to have an impact.
The Wealth of Nations is regarded as the most important work in economics. As a college student majoring in international economy and trade, you should read this amazing book first and get to know the relevant knowledge of economy, which will be helpful to your future study. After reading this book, I have some caution and understanding about myself. This also reminds me of the economic development of China. What China needs most now is a tradition of freedom and rule of law that is truly rooted in society. Adam Smith's new thought "invisible hand" opens our minds and tells us that the foundation of the market system is freedom and the rule of law. To develop the socialist market economy with China characteristics, we should not only attach importance to the space market, but also attach importance to the moderate macro-control of the government. Throughout history, one of our mistakes was the Great Leap Forward. The government completely controlled the market, and everything was stipulated by the government, which finally suppressed the people's enthusiasm for work and made the economy at that time stagnant and backward. We can feel from the article that he did not blindly emphasize the omnipotence of the market, but inadvertently pointed out that if there is no corresponding system design, the market will also become the "root of all evils." Socialism with Chinese characteristics's market economy, which is not based on freedom and the rule of law, is losing its magic. Looking at the development of the western free market, it is accompanied by the continuous extension and expansion of individual freedom. Reading The Wealth of Nations makes me more convinced of this.
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 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. " In my opinion, this is an important masterpiece advocating individual free competition and occupies an important position in economics. It is an encyclopedia that has an important influence on modern and contemporary times! Chapter one, the reasons of productivity improvement and product distribution. This first article is the top priority of the whole masterpiece.
The first thing we talk about is the division of labor. People need cooperation. Division of labor is the inevitable result of social development and progress. We may not be good at one aspect, but we can exchange one aspect we are good at for services that others are good at. This is theory of absolute advantage. Division of labor can greatly improve labor productivity. It is precisely because people have different specialties and complex needs that communication has taken place. Exchange improves the effective social demand and social welfare, so more circulating products are needed. Needless to say, the most powerful explanation for the division of labor is the example of "making a pin". Division of labor is to create more social value.
Then there is the discussion of currency and commodity prices. Value, I think it represents the utility of goods. The marginal utility of goods is the most studied in economics, because it is this marginal utility that determines the price of goods. Many economic works will mention that "steamed bread is the last one to eat". In the case that there is no shortage of steamed bread, it is the value of this last steamed bread that determines its price. According to the high school political textbook, value includes labor, and labor is the real measure to measure the exchange value of all commodities. It reflects the real price of goods. Once a product is produced, its real price will be fixed, and what changes is only our current monetary measurement. Labor wages and capital profits mentioned below are the distribution of wealth created by social division of labor. According to macroeconomics, this is the original distribution of wealth. Social division of labor will inevitably lead to different contributions of workers to the final product in the production process, that is, the differences in the occupational nature of workers mentioned in the book, which will eventually lead to unequal wages of workers. The land rent mentioned in chapter 11 is actually the land use price, that is, the economic price that capital has to pay for using land, that is, the economic rent.
The second part, the nature, accumulation and use of assets. The essence of assets is the classification of assets. In fact, the ultimate goal of the wealth of nations is to increase national wealth and social welfare. To increase national wealth, we must take one road, that is, increase actual employment and produce machinery and equipment. At that time, there was no concept of virtual economy, that is, increasing workers and labor tools in the real economy, which required asset investment. The investment and operation of assets is the process of asset accumulation and use.
Chapter three, different ways of wealth growth in different countries. This article is actually about the economic development history of European countries. The content is also relatively small, and I think it is not interesting.
Chapter four, political and economic system. I think this article is a portrayal of the market economy under the macro-control of Socialism with Chinese characteristics countries. I think there is obviously mercantilism in our country now. Everything is measured by money, and money will soon replace the status of love and become the condition for men and women to get married in modern cities. "You can't save people without money, you can't ask for corpses", and some phenomena mentioned by teachers in class, such as "jail with money, jail without money", are all taught by education that values money and business. If our education was more mixed with "moral" education, maybe many things would not be like this. However, it is undeniable that economic development needs the promotion of mercantilism. Smith thinks that we should restrict the import of domestic goods, which is actually our trade barrier in previous years. In order to ensure the survival and development of domestic enterprises, in fact, in today's economic globalization, where are 100% domestic products and 100% imported goods? Hardly.
In terms of tax refund, bonus and trade treaty, they are all some strategies of national import and export trade. Our country is also implementing export tax rebate. Trade treaties are actually agreements signed on the basis of mutual benefit. Of course, unfair treaties, such as the Opium War, are not excluded. Colonies are the base areas for these powerful countries to plunder resources and increase wealth regardless of the lives of others. Smith criticized mercantilism. When summing up mercantilism, Smith put forward the "invisible hand". I have read related books. The book Invisible Hand was only mentioned once, but it actually affected the overall situation. It is through this "invisible hand" that seemingly selfish behavior will eventually maximize social welfare.
Chapter five, the income of monarch or country. The Wealth of Nations actually opposes government intervention. He believes that the main task of the government is to protect national security, defend the people from bullying, and establish and maintain public utilities. Here he talked about the importance of education, which I think is his greatness. In addition, he also put forward the famous four principles of taxation: equality, certainty, convenience and economy. In the textbooks we use now, the three characteristics of taxation are defined as "compulsory, free and fixed". Don't you have anything similar? Adam Smith mentioned our country in Chapter 8 of The Wealth of Nations. He said that China is one of the countries with the most fertile land, the best cultivated land, the most industrious people and the largest population in the world. At the same time, he also said that the poverty level of the people at the bottom of China far exceeds that of the people in the poorest countries in Europe. What a sad thing it is, even today, these words are not exaggerated. Our economy has developed and our country is rich, but ordinary people can't afford to go to school, look down on illness and buy a house! Why is this?