Book 3, Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

During this "Book" the author endeavors to show how nations progress. He asserts that beyond any shadow of a doubt, each nation makes better progress through being interdependent than would be possible if isolated. This seems self-evident in many ways. Ironically, it also flies in the face of ideas that self-sufficiency means separation and isolation from others. While togetherness can undermine progress, often enough it has the reverse effect. He also recognizes that since the wealth of one location is not identical to that of another what is needed to make the best advancement is not the same for each nation. As mentioned earlier, there were nations that had plenty of gold, but not enough corn.

The author also differentiates between what takes place in the countryside and what occurs in the city. He reports that each has an...