Content
@
https://opensea.io/collection/books-39
0 reply
0 recast
5 reactions
7858
@7858.eth
The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith invents modern economics at a glacial pace. This was a grind. Even with the benefit of knowing what to look for, it’s exhausting to extract the core theses from the interminable illustrations of silver prices and pin factories. It’s one of those enlightenment works that felt zero urgency and zero obligation to cater to its reader. It’s a degree of authorial selfishness that’s inconceivable in 2025. And you’re going through all that just to mine out a handful of economic ideas that come to modern readers with mothers’ milk. Despite what the other book says, reading Adam Smith will not change your life, except that it’ll wipe out forty hours. I guess it’s a five star book as a historically influential work, but don’t bother reading it unless you’re consciously courting the clout. As an actual reading experience, it’s a two. Read Basic Economics instead, which is more entertaining, more edifying, and less demanding.
8 replies
2 recasts
29 reactions
links 🏴
@links
I always assumed this book was like Moby Dick - pick it up a few times in your life until you finally finish it and realize it’s quality. …now I am thinking about not picking it up again.
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
7858
@7858.eth
Yeah, Moby Dick can feel a bit daunting at times, but it’s a timeless treasure. It holds up even in modern times. Partly, it’s because it draws so heavily on Shakespeare. The pure artistry of 200-600 years ago is just good in absolute terms. The prevailing intellectual style of the enlightenment (as opposed to the substance of the ideas) is simply not as good. We’ve gotten better at conveying ideas. And like I said in the review, some enlightenment works fall flat because their message has been woven so deeply into the fabric of modern society.
0 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
