Economics

Summary Adam Smith lays out one of the first exhaustive accounts of how a complex, developed economy functions. Published in 1776 during some “difficulties” in the relationship between Britain and one of its colonies, Smith makes the case for fundamental economic concepts like free markets and the division of labor. The first book, by far my favorite, presents the fundamentals of Smith’s concepts of value, wages, and labor. One of his key observations concerns the transport of goods. He argues that without the capacity of water to transport heavy items easily, civilization itself would have been greatly hampered. This insight helps explain why civilizations emerged near bodies of water that were easily navigable, most notably in the Mediterranean. It is always fascinating to observe how the limitations imposed by an environment affect the systems that find ways to thrive within those given constraints. ...

This was one of the densest and most abstract books I’ve read. The first section was Karl Marx breaking down his view of economy down to first principles. Answering questions like where money comes from, how are babies made and what’s the difference between the commodity form of gold and the money form of gold. Descriptions of the relationships between supply and demand in the simplest and in my view unnecessarily dry way. This discussion turned to how capital breeds capital. The book is full of references to the terrible working conditions for people during the industrial revolution. Really makes you glad that you live in an era of 40-hour work weeks and PTO. It seems like in some sick twisted way a pinko commie might have been what was necessary to get the people riled up enough to push the glacial pace of change in the right direction. Part of me wonders if Marx was alive today if he would still be as anti-capitalist (I know, I know, put your sickles down) as he was. I feel like the answer would be yes and I would be disappointed. It seems to me that many of his complaints about capitalism, while still inherent in our economy, have been addressed. Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Overall Marx was a brilliant thinker, and I can see why he thought the way he did. It would be hard not to agree with him back in the day when six-year-olds were forced to work 17-hour shifts. ...