Wealth of Nations

Smith's Wealth of Nations still amazes me, in that a book written nearly 250 years ago retains so much relevance to economics of the present day. Situations we presume to be entirely unique to our age, never before encountered, are merely echoes of history, and the principles that held true at a time when civilization was taking the first timid steps out of the agricultural age remain valid, entirely worth considering in the assessment of the situation in the information economy of today.

I've stumbled on this notion multiple times, and each time it intrigues me: that while the incidental details of interaction have vastly changed over time, its fundamental nature remains the same. The gimmickry of the platform can be a distraction from the essential nature of the interaction, and too much focus on the gimmickry of the "new" can lead us astray, such that we neglect more fundamentally important considerations, and end in failure.

If, in building and managing an e-commerce operation, the essence of the interaction is obscured in favor of the gimmickry, it will fail. If, in leveraging social media, we fail to consider the essence of human interactions, we will fail. The technology layer is merely a veneer.

This is entirely a diversion from Smith's work - which itself is too extensive and detailed to summarize in a quick blog post - but I think speaks to the essence of the experience of re-reading it in the current day. I appreciate the irony of that.