# The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

4 Hacker News commenters recommended The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as the foundational case for competitive free markets, with later books restating its findings. One critic finds its chapters on regulation repetitive and ranting.

## Why people recommend it

- Foundational case for competitive free markets (1 comments): "A core premise of the book is basically that competitive free markets are good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48103188))
- Findings restated in later books (1 comments): "quite a few of the findings are basically restatements from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50246143))
- Observations on trade and labor (1 comments): "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48920439))
- Pairs well with modern business reading (1 comments): "Read Zero to One and perhaps a few chapters out of Wealth of Nations." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50175761))

## What people warn about

- Repetitive rants against regulation (1 comments): "The whole chapter is full of incessant, obsessive ramblings against regulation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49401150))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/capital-in-the-twenty-first-century.md): 12 recommend
- [Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/why-nations-fail.md): 9 recommend
- [Progress and Poverty by Henry George](https://hackerapproved.com/p/progress-and-poverty.md): 6 recommend
- [Free to Choose by Milton Friedman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/free-to-choose.md): 5 recommend
- [Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/imperialism-the-highest-stage-of-capitalism.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0226763749?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780226763743) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith", https://hackerapproved.com/p/wealth-of-nations/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).