Classical Political Economy is often said to begin with Adam Smith and the publi

Classical Political Economy is often said to begin with Adam Smith and the publication and of his book The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Smith’s goal was to understand the newly emerging capitalist economy. He wanted to describe it accurately, and figure out what government policies would help it function best. In this new capitalist world, what policies should governments follow in order to serve their national interest?
When you read, pay particular attention to:
-the story about the pin-maker and the pin factory in the first few paragaphs
-when you read Smith talking about a “commodity”, check Hunt and Lautsenheiser for an explanation of what exactly a commodity is
Some parts of the reading may be difficult due to the old fashioned language, but stick with it, and if you get stuck on a section, move on to the next one. For now, just try to get a sense of how Smith understands capitalism, and what he thinks the goal of Political Economy should be.
-what does Smith think makes one commodity more or less valuable than another? Notice his distinction between “natural” price and “market” price on page 163.
INSTRUCTIONS ** The kinds of thing you can write about include, but are not limited to: a summary or overview of some aspect of the reading, disagreement with some aspect of the reading, your opinion on some aspect of the reading, anything that stuck out to you as interesting, relevant, or confusing, anything you think relates to current events, saying what aspect of the reading was new to you and what was stuff you already knew about, etc. **