This is a complicated book because of its length and technical verbiage in economics.

The outline includes lengthy dissertations by 5 or more writers in foundational

economic literature and reporting. These are:

1776: The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

1798: An Essay on the Principle of Population

by Thomas Malthus

1817: Principles of Political Economy and Taxation

by David Ricardo

1899: The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions by Thorstein Veblen

1936: The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money

by John Maynard Keynes

There is an extensive development of macroeconomic theory dealing with the GNP, as well as the microeconomics pertinent

to everything human beings do. The Wealth of Nations is the classic by Adam Smith. It espouses the theory that human beings are driven by self-interest & that they play a role in improving the market. The Mercantilists of the time believed that the wealth of a nation began with trade

surpluses. The division of labor leads to greater improvement, dexterity, time saving and mechanization. These concepts

permeate the modern patent laws around the world. The inherent

difficulty in weighing metals leads to the utilization of coins

and other money in the form of paper, bonds etc. Value is

defined in terms of its use in exchange. The real price is

a function of the toil involved in the manufacture or assembly

of a product.

Malthus believed that increasing the price of a stock

necessarily increased the price of provisions.

David Ricardo believed that population doubled every 25 years

and that capital doubled in less than 25 years or it lagged behind. Therefore, wages increased because the demand for labor

was greater than its supply. The value of a

commodity was a function of the amount of labor expended in

producing it. The quantity of labor with respect to commodity

production is modified by the employment of machinery, fixed

and durable capital.

Thorstein Vebleu believed that wealth increments lead to a

leisure class developing in structure and function.

At some point, the leisure class matures and it becomes exempt

from the idea of thrift and savings.

Overall, the book explains many of the concepts behind money and

wealth. The downside is the 1400 pages or so to accomplish this

monumental task. This would be an excellent purchase for students

of the economic sciences, government, politics, world history and

news reporting.