Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations
1776 marked the publication in England of one of the most influential books of our time, “The Wealth of Nations”. Written by Adam Smith, it earned the author the title “The Father of Economics”.
Smith objected to the principal economic beliefs of his day. In Smith’s view, a nation’s wealth was dependent upon production, not agriculture alone. How much it produced depended upon how well it combined labor and the other factors of production. The more efficient the combination, the greater the nation’s wealth.
The heart of Smith’s economic philosophy was his belief that the economy would work best if left to function on its own without government regulation.
To explain why all society benefits when the economy is free of regulation, Smith used the metaphor of the “invisible hand”.
The “invisible hand” was Smith’s name for the economic forces that we today would call supply and demand or the marketplace.
“The Wealth of Nations” goes on to describe the principal elements of the economic system. In a famous section, Smith turned to the pin industry to demonstrate how the labor division and the use of machinery increased output.
Although modern technology has improved the methods by which pins are produced, the principles pertaining to the division of labor remain unchanged.
Similarly, other sections dealing with the production factors, money and international trade are as meaningful today as when they were first written.
I . Перепишите текст и переведите его на русский язык.
II . Ответьте письменно на вопросы к тексту.
1. When did A. Smith publish his book “The Wealth of Nations”?
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2. What does the wealth of nations depend on in Smith’s opinion?
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3. When does all society benefit?
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4. What increases output in industry?
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5. What production factors are meaningful for the economy?
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III . Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в них видовременные формы глаголов и укажите их инфинитив.
1. “The Wealth of Nations” earned the author the title “The Father of Economics”.
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2. We call supply and demand “invisible hand” today.
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3. Although modern technology has improved the methods the principles remain unchanged.
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IV . Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните в каждом из них модальный глагол или его эквивалент. Переведите на русский язык.
1. Each buyer and seller must take the market price as given since it is beyond their influence or control.
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2. In capitalist system individuals should be free to do what they wish.
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3. Changes in the quantity of money may or may not have an influence on prices.
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4. Sometimes the government has to impose trade barriers to protect domestic producers.
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V . Перепишите следующие предложения и переведите их на русский язык, обращая внимание на разные значения слов that , it , one .
1. It is the double taxation of profits that is considered to be one of the disadvantages of the corporation.
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2. Single ownerships have finance weaknesses and that is the reason why the corporation came into existence.
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3. As one would expect, total output is much greater when there is specialization.
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VI . Перепишите предложения и переведите их на русский язык, обращая внимание на разные значения глаголов to be , to have , to do .
1. These principles are still the basis of the modern cooperative societies.
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2. The Coops have about 6% of the retail trade and about 15% of the grocery trade.
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3. A long series of mergers has reduced the number of societies.
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4. The growth of multinational corporations has had both benefits and drawbacks.
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