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THE ANNUAL labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniencies of life which it annually consumes, and which consist always either in the immediate produce of that labour, or in what is purchased with that produce from other nations.
According, therefore, as this produce, or what is purchased with it, bears a greater or smaller proportion to the number of those who are to consume it, the nation will be better or worse supplied with all the necessaries and conveniencies for which it has occasion.
内容简介
1776年,西方经济学之父亚当·斯密发表《国富论》,批驳了传统学说占主导地位的重商主义、重农主义,首次提出自由贸易、劳动价值观和劳动分工将极大地提高生产效率的观点,既在理论上为西方现代经济学奠定了基础,也为世界自由资本主义_的发展扫清了障碍。亚当,斯密的同道马尔萨斯依据这一学说探讨了人口过剩问题,大卫·李嘉图提出工资铁律,进一步将其理论整合为古典经济学,由此标志了经济学作为一门独立学科的诞生。著名翻译家严复将此书译作《原富》,在我国学术界及现代史上影响至深至巨。
《国富论》被誉为西方经济学的《圣经》、影响世界历史的十大著作之一和一百部影响人类文化的著作之一;1986年,法国《读书》杂志还将其推荐为“理想藏书”。
作者简介
ADAM SMITH (1723-I790) was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer ofpolitical economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smithis the author of The Theoryof Moral Sentiments and An Inqunyinto the Naarre and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations,is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. It earned him an enormous reputation and would become one ofthe most influential works on economics ever published Smithis widely cited as the father of modern economics and capitalism.
内页插图
目录
INTRODUCTION AND PLAN OF THE WORK
BOOK Ⅰ. OF THE CAUSES OF IMPROVEMENT IN THE
PRODUCTIVE POWERS OF LABOUR,AND OF THE
ORDER ACCORDING TO WHICH ITS PRODUCE
IS NATURALLY DISTRIBUTED AM'ONG THE
DIFFERENT RANKS OF THE PEOPLE
CHAPTER Ⅰ. OF THE DIVISION OF LABOUR
CHAPTER Ⅱ. OF THE PRINCIPLE WHICH GIVES
OCCASION TO THE DIVISION OF LABOUR
CHAPTER Ⅲ. THAT THE DIVISION OF LABOUR IS LIMITED BY THE EXTENT OF THE MARKET
CHAPTER Ⅳ. OF THE ORIGIN AND USE OF MONEY
CHAPTER Ⅴ. OF THE REAL AND NOMINAL PRICE OF COMMODITIES, OR OF THEIR PRICE IN LABOUR, AND THEIR PRICE IN MONEY
CHAPTER Ⅵ. OF THE COMPONENT PART OF THE PRICE OF COMMODITIES
CHAPTER Ⅶ. OF THE NATURAL AND MARKET PRICE OF COMMODITIES
CHAPTER Ⅷ. OF THE WAGES OF LABOUR
CHAPTER Ⅸ. OF THE PROFITS OF STOCK
CHAPTER Ⅹ. OF WAGES AND PROFIT IN THE DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS OF LABOUR AND STOCK
CHAPTER XL OF THE RENT OF IAND
BOOK Ⅱ. OF THE NATURE, ACCUMULATION, AND EMPLOYMENT OF STOCK
CHAPTER Ⅰ. OF THE DIVISION OF STOCK
CHAPTER Ⅱ. OF MONEY, CONSIDERED AS APARTICUIAR BRANCH OF THE GENERAL STOCK OF THE SOCIETY, OR OF THE EXPENSE OF MAINTAINING THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
CHAPTER Ⅲ. OF THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL, OR OF PRODUCTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE ABOUR
CHAPTER Ⅳ. OF STOCK LENT AT INTEREST
CHAPTER Ⅴ. OF THE DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS OF CAPITALS
BOOK Ⅲ. OF THE DIFFERENT PROGRESS
OF OPULENCE IN DIFFERENT NATIONS
CHAPTER Ⅰ. OF THE NATURAL PROGRESS OF OPULENCE
CHAPTER Ⅱ. OF THE DISCOURAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN THE ANCIENT STATE OF EUROPE, AFTER THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
CHAPTER Ⅲ. OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF CITIES AND TOWNS, AFTER THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
CHAPTER Ⅳ. HOW THE COMMERCE OF TOWNS CONTRIBUTED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE COUNTRY
BOOK Ⅳ. OF SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
CHAPTER Ⅰ. OF THE PRINCIPLE OF THE COMMERCIAL OR MERCANTILE SYSTEM
……
BOOK Ⅴ. OF THE REVENUE OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COMMONWEALTH
精彩书摘
nominal price, in the quantity of money The labourer is rich or poor,is well or ill rewarded, in proportion to the real, not to the nominal price of his labour.
The distinction between the real and the nominal price of commodities and labour is not a matter of mere speculation, bur:may sometimes be of considerable use in practice. The same real price is always of the same value; but on account of the variations in the value of gold and silver, the same nominal price is sometimes of very different values. When a landed estate, therefore, is sold with a reservation of a perpetual rent, if it is intended that this rent should always be of the same value, it is of importance to the family in whose favour it is reserved, that it should not consist in a particular sum of money. Its value would in this case be liable to variations of two different kinds: first, to those which arise from the different quantities of gold and silver which are contained at different times in coin of the same denomination; and, secondly, to those which arise from the different values of equal quantities of gold and silver at different times.
Princes and sovereign states have frequently fancied that they had a temporary interest to diminish the quantity of pure metal contained in their coins; but they seldom have fancied that they had any to augment it. The quantity of metal contained in the coins, I believe of all nations, has accordingly been almost continually diminishing, and hardly ever augmenting. Such variations, therefore, tend almost always to diminish the value of an rent.
The discovery of the mines of America diminished the value of gold and silver in Europe. This dinunution,it is commonly supposed, though I apprehend without any certain proof, is still going on gradually, and is likely to continue to do so for a long time. Upon this supposition, therefore, such variations are more likely to diminish than to augrent the value of a money rent, even though it should be stipulated to be paid, not in such a quantity of coined money of such a denomination (in so many pounds sterling, for example), but in so many ounces, either of pure silver, or of silver of a certain standard.
The rents which have been reserved in corn, have preserved their value much better than those which have been reserved in money, even where the denomination of the coin has not been altered. By the 18th of Elizabeth, it was enacted, that a third of the rent of all college leases should be reserved in com, to be paid either in kind, or according to the current prices at the nearest public market. The money arising from this corn rent, though originally but a third of the whole, is, in the present times, according to Dr. Blackstone, commonly near double of what arises from the other two-thirds. The old money rents of colleges must, according to this account, have sunk almost to a fourth part of their anaent value, or are worth little more than a fourth part of the corn which they were formerly wotth. But since the reign of Philip and Mary, the denomination of the English coin has undergone little or no alteration, and the same number of pounds, shillings, and pence, have contained very nearly the same quantity of pure silver. This degradation, therefore, in the value of the money rents of colleges, has arisen altogether from the degradation in the price of silver.
……
前言/序言
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《国富论》是一部影响深远的经济学著作,由苏格兰经济学家亚当·斯密于1776年首次出版。这部巨著不仅奠定了古典经济学的基石,更深刻地塑造了现代西方经济思想的发展轨迹。斯密在这部作品中,以其敏锐的洞察力和严谨的逻辑,系统地阐述了国家财富的来源,并提出了促进经济繁荣的关键要素。 核心理念与结构解析 《国富论》全名为《国民财富的性质与原因的研究》,顾名思义,其核心在于探究一个国家如何才能变得富有,以及导致国家财富增长或衰退的原因。斯密认为,国民财富的根本来源在于劳动。一个国家拥有的劳动生产力越高,其财富就越丰厚。为了提高劳动生产力,他提出了两个关键因素:劳动分工和资本积累。 第一篇:劳动分工与生产力 在第一篇中,斯密首先强调了劳动分工的巨大作用。他以制针业为例,生动地描绘了在没有劳动分工的情况下,一个工人一天可能只能制造一枚甚至不到一枚针,而通过精细的劳动分工,即使是十人组成的工厂,一天也能生产出四万八千枚针。斯密分析了劳动分工之所以能够提高生产力的三个原因: 1. 技巧的增加: 劳动者在重复专注于一项特定任务时,其技能会日益熟练,从而大大提高工作效率。 2. 节省从一种工作转到另一种工作时的时间损耗: 一个人专注于一种工作,不必频繁切换,能够节省大量不必要的时间。 3. 机械的发明: 专注于某项工作的工人,更容易发现改进生产过程的办法,并可能发明出能够辅助或替代人力的机械。 斯密进一步论述了劳动分工的普及程度与市场规模密切相关。只有当市场足够大,能够消化分工生产出来的充足商品时,劳动分工才得以充分发展。 他还探讨了“价值”的两个概念:使用价值(商品对使用者的效用)和交换价值(商品能够换取的其他商品的数量)。斯密认为,在考察商品的交换价值时,劳动是衡量一切商品真实价格的最终尺度。他分析了劳动本身如何成为一种交换价值,以及通过劳动来衡量商品的价值。 斯密也深入探讨了工资、地租和利润这三种要素的构成。他认为,在社会的早期,商品的交换价值完全由劳动决定;随着社会的发展,交换价值才开始包含利润和地租。他分析了不同行业和不同职位的工资差异,认为工资受到供需关系、职业的吸引力、学徒期长短以及工作的稳定性和体面程度等多种因素的影响。 第二篇:资本的积累与再生产 第二篇是《国富论》的另一核心部分,斯密在此详细阐述了资本积累对于国家财富增长的重要性。他将资本定义为用于生产的资源,并将其分为固定资本(如工具、机器、厂房等)和流动资本(如原材料、待售商品、货币等)。 斯密认为,资本的积累是劳动生产力提高的前提。劳动者需要工具和原材料才能进行生产,而这些都属于资本的范畴。当生产者将一部分劳动所得转化为资本,用于扩大生产,那么下一次的生产规模就能进一步扩大,从而形成良性循环。 他强调了节俭是资本积累的关键。节俭意味着将收入用于消费以外的其他方面,特别是用于再生产。相反,浪费和奢侈会阻碍资本的积累,并最终削弱国家的财富。 斯密还提出了“劳动再生产”的概念,即资本不仅能够维持工人的生活,更能帮助他们创造出比他们自身劳动力价值更多的价值,这部分剩余价值就是利润的来源。他分析了利润的性质,认为利润是生产者承担风险、管理和创新的回报,并在一定程度上受到市场竞争的影响。 第三篇:国家经济政策的演变 第三篇则将视线转向了历史,斯密考察了不同国家在不同历史时期所采取的经济政策,并分析了这些政策对国家财富产生的影响。他认为,欧洲各国在罗马帝国衰亡后,逐渐从一种相对平等的社会结构走向了商业社会。 在此过程中,斯密观察到了各国经济政策的演变:从早期的商业保护主义,到后来逐渐认识到自由贸易的重要性。他批评了历史上盛行的重商主义(Mercantilism),认为这种以积累贵金属为目标,通过贸易顺差来增加国家财富的政策,实际上是一种短视且损害国家整体利益的政策。重商主义通过限制进口、鼓励出口,人为地制造了商品短缺和价格上涨,最终损害了消费者的利益,也阻碍了生产力的发展。 斯密认为,国家不应该过度干预经济活动,而是应该为市场提供一个自由竞争的环境。 第四篇:政治经济学体系的批判 第四篇是斯密对当时流行的经济学体系,特别是重商主义,进行的系统性批判,同时也为他自己所倡导的自由放任经济学奠定了理论基础。 他详细阐述了为什么限制进口和鼓励出口并非总是对国家有益。他认为,一个国家即使拥有大量的金银,如果不能生产出满足自身需求的商品,其国民的生活水平仍然可能很低。相反,一个能够通过自由贸易获得大量所需商品的国家,即使金银储备不多,其国民的富裕程度也可能更高。 斯密强调了自由贸易的益处,认为国家之间的自由贸易能够促进生产力的专业化分工,提高全球的生产效率,并最终使所有参与贸易的国家都受益。他认为,政府的角色应该是保护国内产业免受外国不正当竞争(如倾销),但对于一般的商品贸易,应该尽可能地放任自流。 第五篇:君主与国家的财政收入 在第五篇中,斯密将讨论的焦点转向了政府的财政收入和支出。他认为,君主(政府)的职责包括三个方面: 1. 保护社会免受其他独立社会的侵犯: 这需要军队和国防。 2. 保护社会上的每一个人免受社会上其他任何人的侵犯或压迫: 这需要司法系统和法律。 3. 建立和维持公共工程和公共机构: 这些是私人个体无法有效提供或维持的,例如道路、桥梁、港口、学校、医院等。 斯密对政府的财政收入来源进行了分析,主要包括税收。他提出了税收的四个基本原则: 1. 公平原则: 每个国民都应该根据其能力(即他从国家获得的保护程度)来分担国家的费用。 2. 确定性原则: 向公民征收的税款应该明确,而不是任意征收。 3. 便利性原则: 征税应该在最方便纳税人的时间和征收方式上进行。 4. 经济性原则: 征税应该尽量少地增加纳税人的负担,避免不必要的征税成本。 他详细讨论了各种税收的形式,如人头税、土地税、财产税、消费税等,并分析了它们的优缺点。斯密还认为,政府的支出应该审慎,避免不必要的浪费,并将有限的财政资源投入到能够促进国家整体福祉的公共事业上。 “看不见的手”与自由市场 虽然“看不见的手”这个词在《国富论》中并非频繁出现,但其所代表的理念却是贯穿全书的核心思想。斯密认为,在自由市场经济中,个体追求自身利益的行为,在法律和制度的约束下,仿佛有一只“看不见的手”在引导,最终会促进整个社会的公共利益。 当生产者为了追求利润而努力提高生产效率、降低成本、提供更优质的产品时,他们就是在为消费者创造价值。当消费者在市场上自由选择商品时,他们也在用自己的购买力引导着生产的方向。这种由无数个体理性选择汇聚而成的市场机制,能够比任何中央计划或政府干预都更有效地配置资源,实现经济的繁荣。 斯密对政府角色的定位是有限的,他认为政府的主要职责是维护法律秩序、保护产权、提供公共物品,以及在必要时干预市场失灵的情况,但总体上应该避免对经济活动的过度干预,遵循“自由放任”的原则。 深远影响 《国富论》的出版,标志着经济学作为一门独立学科的诞生。它不仅深刻影响了后来的经济学家,如大卫·李嘉图、托马斯·马尔萨斯等,更成为资本主义发展的重要理论基石。其所倡导的自由市场、自由贸易、劳动分工、资本积累等思想,在世界范围内得到了广泛的实践和传播,对现代社会的经济制度、政治思想乃至哲学观念都产生了不可估量的影响。 尽管《国富论》诞生于18世纪,其提出的许多基本原理至今仍对理解和分析当代经济问题具有重要的指导意义。它提醒我们,在一个健康的经济体系中,个体追求自身利益与促进社会整体福祉之间,存在着一种奇妙的、内在的联系。