Here we go! Tweeting our way through #WealthOfNations! It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so be sure to stretch, stay hydrated, and keep a steady pace. #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

That’s one heck of a first sentence, Dr. Smith. No dithering here. The division of labor is the secret sauce that increases productivity. (I.i.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
We always forget the pin factory comes this early and that Smith looks at it not because pins are important (though they are!) but because it’s a small industry that you can look at all at once.(I.i.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
How many pins can the SmithTweeters make in a day? How bad do you want them to be? (I.i.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Do you think the pin guys were all “Dude, we let you observe our work, told you how many pins in a pound, showed you every step in the process...and you call us a ‘trifling manufacture’? Not cool, Smith!” (I.i.4) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Agricultural work can’t be as improved by the division of labor as other work, so it’s less likely to make a nation wealthy. Modern mechanization of farming may have changed this, but there’s no escaping the seasonal nature of the work. (I.i.4) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Okay, we are from the Midwest so we were startled to learn that when Smith talks about corn he means “the main cereal crop of a particular place.” Could be wheat, oats, or whatever. He’s not talking about corn on the cob. (I.i.4) #OhioProblems #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Division of labor improves productivity 3 ways. (I.i.5–8) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

1.We get good at one thing. (SmithTweeting!)
2.We don’t have to switch tasks. (It's why we don’t RousseauTweet...or is it?)
3.We make better machinery. (Hand delivering tweets? Exhausting!)
Should we be sorry for or proud of the kid who was so smart that he invented his way out of a job? (I.i.8) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
A little shade, a little praise. It’s Smith on philosophers!. They don’t exactly DO anything, but they see the connections between things that other people don't. (I.i.9) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Division of labor means we all get more productive, which means (if our society is well governed, which is a very big 𝐢𝐟, we know) we all get better off, even the least well off among us. That’s the secret sauce.(I.i.10) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
WE LOVE THIS PART! 😍 The magic of the market: turning division of labor into worldwide cooperation among strangers to produce a woolen coat. People who see markets as only cutthroat competition need more Smith and need this bit specifically. (I.i.11) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

More from @AdamSmithWorks

The great thing about #AdamSmith is that when he's about to go off on a 65 page tangent, he warns you. Humans, we bring you the DIGRESSIONS ON SILVER! #OhLawdHeComin #WealthOfTweets

Oh King Edward III, it’s adorable that you think you can just decree that servants and laborers become permanently content with wages fixed at the rate they were at five years ago.
https://t.co/NtOmttquJ3 (I.xi.e.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


He’s already digressing, and he can’t take a minute to share the menu from that famously magnificent feast with us? (I.xi.e.4–5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Super Important 18thC Vocab Geekery: When Smith says the price of the quarter of wheat wasn't “supposed to be < 4 oz silver” he doesn’t mean “shouldn't be.” He means “wasn't thought to be.” He’s not approving of fixed prices. (I.xi.e.7) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

So. Many. Wheat. Prices. (But really, Smith is talking about how much wheat it takes to buy a quantity of silver, NOT how much silver it takes to buy a quantity of wheat.) (I.xi.e.1–14) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

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