"The Principle of the Mercantile System" (1776) Summary

According to Adam Smith in this article, the basis of England's wealth is gold and silver, not in the lands, houses, or resources. He goes on the explain through the article that England has lost it's focus on the industry of the consumer and concentrated more on the importation of the money they receive from their colonies. The wealth is only considered to consist of gold and silver and, "that those metals could be brought into a country which had no mines only by the balance of trade, or by exporting to a greater value than it imported." Smith makes the point that England has starte…