| Wealth of Nations Home Book I Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter VI Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Part I Part I Chapter XI |
Chapter X
OF WAGES AND PROFIT IN THE DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS OF LABOUR AND STOCK Vocabulary for this chapter Artificer - a skillful or artistic worker; craftsperson. Caprice - a sudden, unpredictable change, as of one's mind or the weather. Collier - a coal miner. Corporation - Obsolete A guild. Diminution - the act, fact, or process of diminishing; lessening; reduction. Extricate - to free or release from entanglement; disengage: to extricate someone from a dangerous situation. Odious - highly offensive; repugnant; disgusting. Occasion - Obsolete necessary business matter, and to meet a need. Pecuniary - of or pertaining to money: pecuniary difficulties. Repose - dignified calmness, as of manner; composure. Introduction: (I hope you will excuse the length of this, and the next chapter's summary, but this particular chapter is over 60 pages long, and the next chapter even longer) Smith starts off arguing that if every man was able to freely choose whatever occupation, like doctor, smith, farmer, at will, then there would be no advantageous job, because as soon as one job was shown to have an advantage over another, the masses would rush to that job, and the competition would drive down the wages for that job bringing it back into equilibrium with the other jobs. But this is not the case, and certain circumstances cause some men to believe they are being fairly treated when their wages are higher or lower then their counterparts. Those circumstances are going to be presented in two parts Chapter X Intro<---- ---->Chapter X Part I |