Adam Smith

Adam Smith’s Of the Natural Progress of Opulence makes some pointed observations and ideas about the way the economy of a society will best survive. Smith recommends forming societies that are self sufficient, and trading crops and surplus in order to stimulate the growth and success of the society. According to Smith, the epitome of success is land ownership because then one can be entirely independent of foreign trade and manufacturing reliance.

I found it necessary to keep in mind that Smith was writing before the industrial revolution. While there is much merit to Smith’s ideas in the context of his writing them, I do not think they entirely apply in the modern world. The world has moved to a much more global economy, and the most successful nations are those that have embraced this and learned how to use the global economy to their advantage.

Those countries that remain unaffected by the global economy are the third world countries that remain in poverty. It is necessary to adapt to the dependence on each other that we have evolved to. The world is too small to remain isolated. For example, Communist China remained isolated from the world for a long period of time, and much of China lies in severe poverty. Now, China is starting to open free market trading with other countries, and wealth of the country is quickly increasing. China is becoming more industrialized and modernized which is in turn improving the quality of life of its citizens. The recent reforms in the Chinese economy “have dramatically reduced the number of people below the poverty line from more than 200 million in 1981 to about 70 million in 1995.” (http://www.gwu.edu/~econ270/Taejoon.html#ref.1) And as the wealth of the country increases, it can begin to focus on the needs of its citizens, such as providing electricity to the rural areas.

The application of Smith’s ideals to a society today would result in the survival of the community perhaps, but the dependence on each other has resulted in more than survival: it has resulted in wealth. And with wealth of a country comes the increased quality of life of its citizens. Today, it is not enough to just survive when one can live and stretch beyond mere survival. The increased quality of life beyond survival results in the creativity and creation of other great ideas. This is because the community can then afford to better educate their children. It is education that leads to furthering the success of a society.

In Smith’s time, students were not even required to attend school and usually only went to school in the winter (at best) because there was less work on the farm. The problem with being completely independent is that there is less delegation of tasks, and therefore the burden on each individual family is much greater. One is responsible for attaining his or her food, shelter, warmth, and education. When it comes down to it, specialization allows us to maximize our productivity, even if that means dependency on one another. The modern industrialized countries are those who are also most capable of providing education to the citizens. I think a society that fosters the mind as well as the survival of the body is a successful one.