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Write a summary regarding stages of history in Adam Smith's writing, as reiterated by Paganelli (2020), that are the age of hunters, the age of shepherds, the age of agriculture, and the age of commerce.
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The stages of history in Adam Smith's writing, as reiterated by Paganelli (2020), are the age of hunters, the age of shepherds, the age of agriculture, and the age of commerce. Smith believes that these stages explain the progress of a man in society. The society started from hunting societies (in some publications such as Svizzero and Tisdell (2016) claim hunter-gatherers) who eventually realize that domesticating wild animals and collecting fruits was.
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What could be a reference for this essay?
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Principles of Political Economy
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essay regarding stages of history in Adam Smith's writing, as reiterated by Paganelli (2020), that are the age of hunters, the age of shepherds, the age of agriculture, and the age of commerce. Exapnd on the summary above.
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#Stages of History, Capitalism, Class Conflict, and Labor Theory in Adam Smith’s Writings Research Paper
Most of Adam Smith’s arguments on capitalism, labor, class conflict, and stages of history (or social development) are contained in his book Wealth of Nations. The stages of history in Adam Smith’s writing, as reiterated by Paganelli (2020), are the age of hunters, the age of shepherds, the age of agriculture, and the age of commerce. Smith believes that these stages explain the progress of a man in society. The society started from hunting societies (in some publications such as Svizzero and Tisdell (2016) claim hunter-gatherers) who eventually realize that domesticating wild animals and collecting fruits was an easier way of obtaining food (the shepherds’ age). Population growth and other social developments demanded a more stable supply of food and agriculture developed as a result. The superfluous products left after meeting the consumption needs were traded for other products, and hence the rise of the commerce age.
Adam Smith is optimistic about capitalism because he sees it as the foundation of economic growth where individuals are allowed to produce as much surplus as possible and trade it for a profit. In the Wealth of Nations, Smith argues that the best economic system is characterized by natural liberty where individuals can trade items of value in exchange for others of greater value to them. He defines capital as stock and profit as the expectation of retaining revenues from improvements implemented on the stock (Smith, 2007). Capital and profit are, therefore, the major drivers behind the dynamic of capitalism according to Adam Smith.
The conflicts in capitalism are also highlighted in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations where the main idea behind the conflicts is competition. According to Hearn (2018), competition is central to the Wealth of Nations and it causes conflicting interests between the traders and/or manufacturers and the public. The traders/manufacturers seek to widen the market and narrow competition to enable them to gain profits above what they would normally get. Such intentions are contrary to the interests of the public who would like to acquire items at reasonable prices. According to Smith (2007), conflict is a part of human nature. Book III of the Wealth of Nations explains the sources of conflicts including the resources that are unevenly distributed and people went to war in pursuit of control of the resources.
Capital is seen as a power and the class conflicts are majorly between the capitalists and laborers emanate from conflicting interests. In chapter 8 of Book I, Smith (2007) argues that one of the two parties will have an advantage in disputes and would force the other into compliance. The capitalists are more powerful and the law authorized or failed to prohibit their combinations while at the same time prohibiting those of the workmen.
The logic of the labor theory of value in Smith’s analysis is that labor can be a tradable commodity whose value can be assessed in the same way as all others traded in a mercantile system. As mentioned earlier, surplus items are traded for items of greater value. When people possess skills needed in production, they become valuable to the manufacturer who attaches a price to the skills. In the Wealth of Nations, Smith (2007) argues that just like in barter where people obtained from one another the goods they needed, the division of labor allows people to produce commodities in surplus and trade them for those made by other people. Adam Smith also states that the possibility of exchanging the surplus of own labor encourages people to apply themselves to a particular occupation and to perfect their talents.