Philosophy/Religion This passage is adapted from Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776. When the division of labor has been [41]thorough once established, it is but a very small part of a man's wants which the produce of his own labor can supply. He supplies the far greater part of them by exchanging that surplus part of the produce [42] of his farmlands,which is over and above his own consumption, for such parts of the produce of other men's labor as he has occasion for.Every man thus lives by exchanging or becomes, in some measure, a merchant, and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial society. But when the division of labor first began to take place, this power of exchanging must frequently [43] has been very much clogged and embarrassed in its operations. One man, we shall suppose,has more of a certain commodity than he himself has occasion for, while another has less. The former, consequently, would be glad to dispose of, and the latter to purchase,a part of this [44]supposition But if this latter should chance to have nothing that the former stands in need [45] of,no exchange can be made between them. The butcher has more meat in his shop than he himself can consume, and the brewer and the baker would each of them be willing to purchase a part of it. But they have nothing to offer in exchange, except the different productions of their respective trades; and the butcher is already provided with all the bread and beer which he has immediate occasion for No exchange can, in this case, be made between them. [46] He cannot be their merchant, and they cannot be his customers,and so as a result they are, altogether, less serviceable from one to the other. considered as a whole. In order to avoid the inconvenience of such situations, every prudent man in every period of [47]. society, after the first establishment of the division of labor must naturally have endeavored to have at all times by him, besides the peculiar produce of his own industry, a certain quantity of some one commodity or other, such as he imagined few people would be likely to refuse in exchange for the produce of their industry.[48] Plenty of stuff was probably used for this purpose. In the rude ages of society, cattle are said to have been the common instrument of commerce; and, though they must have been a most inconvenient one , yet, in old times,, we find things were frequently valued according to the number of cattle which had been given in exchange for them. The armor of Diomedes, says Homer, cost only nine oxen,but that of Glaucus cost a hundred oxen. In all countries, [49]therefore, men seem at last to have been determined by irresistible reasons to give the preference, for this employment, to metals above every other commodity.Metals can not only be kept with as little loss as any other commodity, scareely anything being less perishable than they are. But they can likewise, without any loss,be divided into any number of parts, as by fusion those parts can easily be reunited again, a quality which no other equally durable commodities possess, and which, more than any other quality, renders them fit[50] and being the instruments of commerce and circulation. his passage has been excerpted and adapted from the original,including minor punctuation changes,spelling changes, and other odifications that have no substantially changed content or intent.

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Philosophy/Religion This passage is adapted from Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776. When the division of labor has been [41]thorough once established, it is but a very small part of a man's wants which the produce of his own labor can supply. He supplies the far greater part of them by exchanging that surplus part of the produce [42] of his farmlands,which is over and above his own consumption, for such parts of the produce of other men's labor as he has occasion for.Every man thus lives by exchanging or becomes, in some measure, a merchant, and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial society. But when the division of labor first began to take place, this power of exchanging must frequently [43] has been very much clogged and embarrassed in its operations. One man, we shall suppose,has more of a certain commodity than he himself has occasion for, while another has less. The former, consequently, would be glad to dispose of, and the latter to purchase,a part of this [44]supposition But if this latter should chance to have nothing that the former stands in need [45] of,no exchange can be made between them. The butcher has more meat in his shop than he himself can consume, and the brewer and the baker would each of them be willing to purchase a part of it. But they have nothing to offer in exchange, except the different productions of their respective trades; and the butcher is already provided with all the bread and beer which he has immediate occasion for No exchange can, in this case, be made between them. [46] He cannot be their merchant, and they cannot be his customers,and so as a result they are, altogether, less serviceable from one to the other. considered as a whole. In order to avoid the inconvenience of such situations, every prudent man in every period of [47]. society, after the first establishment of the division of labor must naturally have endeavored to have at all times by him, besides the peculiar produce of his own industry, a certain quantity of some one commodity or other, such as he imagined few people would be likely to refuse in exchange for the produce of their industry.[48] Plenty of stuff was probably used for this purpose. In the rude ages of society, cattle are said to have been the common instrument of commerce; and, though they must have been a most inconvenient one , yet, in old times,, we find things were frequently valued according to the number of cattle which had been given in exchange for them. The armor of Diomedes, says Homer, cost only nine oxen,but that of Glaucus cost a hundred oxen. In all countries, [49]therefore, men seem at last to have been determined by irresistible reasons to give the preference, for this employment, to metals above every other commodity.Metals can not only be kept with as little loss as any other commodity, scareely anything being less perishable than they are. But they can likewise, without any loss,be divided into any number of parts, as by fusion those parts can easily be reunited again, a quality which no other equally durable commodities possess, and which, more than any other quality, renders them fit[50] and being the instruments of commerce and circulation. his passage has been excerpted and adapted from the original,including minor punctuation changes,spelling changes, and other odifications that have no substantially changed content or intent.

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dam Smith, in this passage from "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," discusses the impact of the division of labor on society and the evolution of exchange. He highlights how individuals, through specialization, produce surpluses that they exchange with others. Initially, the process of exchange was hindered by mismatches in needs and possessions.To overcome these challenges, Smith suggests that individuals, in different periods of society, would accumulate a surplus of a commodity that is generally acceptable for exchange. In earlier times, cattle served as a common medium of trade despite their impracticalities. Eventually, metals, due to their durability, divisibility, and preservability, became the preferred medium of exchange, leading to the development of a commercial society.In essence, Smith illustrates how the division of labor and the evolution of exchange are crucial elements in the development of commercial societies, with commodities like metals emerging as efficient instruments of commerce and circulation.

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