The Interaction Between "the Wealth Of Nations" And The British Empire

On March9,1776, the Scottish economist Adam Smith published "The Wealthof Nations." In this monumental work, Adam Smith, for the first time, elaborates thetheory and policy of economic liberalism systematically. He also expressed itscomplete colonial empire thought based on free trade.This book was born in a transition stage that Great Britain turned from the era ofcolonial expansion to the era of free trade, from the mercantilism era to a laissez-faireera. The transformation of British colonial policy, with the change of the dominanttheory, clearly proved influence of the "The Wealth of Nations". This process is alsoan "interaction" process, in which "The Wealth of Nations" and the historicaldevelopment of the British Empire has influencedeach other: For one thing, AdamSmith has his expectation on the development of the British Empire; for another, theBritish Empire practices Adam’s thought in its political activities.Therefore, we would like to explain three issues: The first is the time featureswhen the British Empire transforming from First Empire toSecond Empire transitionperiod. Second is to explore "The Wealth of Nations" aboutthe political thought ofAdam Smith within this book. The third is to study how the British Empire practicesthe political thought of "The Wealth of Nations" during the transition stage from Firstto Second Empire. Through the study of the above questions, we can clearly see thereis an historical interaction between "The Wealth of Nations" and the British Empire.