Next Reading Group Meeting (9/7)
At our last meeting we decided we wanted to read a little Smith before forging on. We’re taking up Smith’s theory of money more fully, his comments on paper money, and his thoughts on the colonies.
We’ve selected the following chapters from The Wealth of Nations: II.ii, II.iv, IV.i. Those who are interested in Smith’s description of commerce in a colonial system should read all of IV.vii. Those who are pressed for time or interested more narrowly in the American colonies should focus on part 3 of IV.vii.
In addition to the readings from Smith (about 100 pages in the U. of C. Press edition), A. Mitchell Innes offers a useful critique of Smith’s monetary theory. We’ll most likely revisit Innes when we take up Keynes, as Keynes wrote approvingly of Innes’s 1913 article “What is Money?” (We’ve found a copy of the article online but are still looking for a JSTOR or Muse pdf. See below)
Readings
- Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book II, chapters ii, iv, Book IV, chapters i, vii (esp. part iii)
- Strongly recommended: A. Mitchell Innes, “What is Money?” (1913). <Link to copy of the article on CES>
Tags: Adam Smith, Reading Group