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An Economics Exhibit

The World's Wealth

Sumerian Tablets from Umma in the John R... (by Bedale, Charles Lees)
Oeconomicus (by Xenophon, of Athens)
Principles of Economics : Volume 1 (by Alfred Marshall)
Dealing with Spatial Dimensions of Inequ... (by Islam, Iyanatul)
Capital : A Critique of Political Econom... (by Marx, Karl)
Life of Adam Smith (by Rae, John)
The Wealth of Nations (by Adam Smith)
The Industrial Revolution (by Beard, Charles Austin)
Records from Erech, Time of Nabonidus (5... (by Dougherty, Raymond Philip)
The Economic Consequences of the Peace (by Keynes, John Maynard)

The World's Wealth: An Economics Exhibit

This virtual exhibit offers significant insight into the money, economic theories and political influence on economies. The historical economic discoveries and records of common men and great economists alike have been preserved in a treasure trove of works and documents in the World’s Wealth Exhibit. A focused exploration into historical documents within our Collection will give readers a sound foundation for understanding of government, society and finance processes.

Ancient Economics

According to the World Heritage Encyclopedia, the discipline of Economics "focuses on the behavior and interactions of economic agents and how economies work." Traditionally, the study of economics is the study of the way individuals and societies best use limited resources to satisfy their wants and needs both at the macro and micro levels (“Economics,” World Heritage Encyclopedia). Throughout history, mankind has approached the processes that govern the production, distribution and consumption of resources with a variety of methods...some more in agreement with our current perception of morality than others.

Records from Erech, Time of Nabonidus (555-538 B.C.), Volume 6 by Raymond P. Dougherty documents the experiences of agricultural slaves in Babylon during the reign of the last Neo-Babylonian king, Nabonidus. They lived long, cruel days under the scorching sun; ploughing, sowing, reaping and threshing (Records from Erech, Time of Nabonidus (555-538 B.C.), Volume 6, Raymond Philip Dougherty). In addition, they were sold. The book, Sumerian Tablets from Umma in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, describes when a sale occurred, a receipt of purchase would be drawn up on a small clay tablet for your former owner (The Sumerian Tablets from Umma, Charles Lees Bedale). This clay receipt would have represented some of the first records of monetary exchange in the history of mankind (“Economics,” World Heritage Encyclopedia).

The most treasured discoveries made by the greatest minds in the history of economic thought are rendered somewhat lifeless beside a record of the daily suffering endured by a common slave hand in Babylon (Records from Erech, Time of Nabonidus (555-538 B.C.), Volume 6, Raymond Philip Dougherty). It is this connection to documents and records, detailing humanity’s cruelty in some cases, which makes so relevant the importance of fair economic law and practice today.

Measurement

Immoral economic practices are often a product of trying to address the problem of resource scarcity in a society (“Economics,” World Heritage Encyclopedia). The problem of scarcity is addressed at length by 18th-century Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith, whose most famous work, The Wealth of Nations, is often referred to as the bible of capitalism ("Adam Smith," World Heritage Encyclopedia).

Smith believed that when an individual pursues his or her self-interest, they indirectly promote the good of society and solve many of the problems associated with scarcity (The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith). Smith contended that self-interested competition in the free market would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices low, while still building in an incentive for a wide variety of goods and services ("Adam Smith," World Heritage Encyclopedia).

Before Smith wrote the book, world economic theory measured a country’s wealth by its store of gold, silver and other precious metals. Smith argued that a nation’s wealth should not be judged thus but rather by the total of its production and commerce - what we know today as gross domestic product (The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith).

It took Smith nine long years to write the book, which is believed to be the first work dedicated to the study of political economics ("The Wealth of Nations" World Heritage Encyclopedia). Life of Adam Smith describes Smith was on his deathbed, regretting that he hadn’t accomplished more (Life of Adam Smith, John Rae). Even so, his philosophies and contributions to economic thought have often been credited, such as in The Industrial Revolution by Charles Austin Beard, for forging the path to prosperity that characterized the western world in the 19th-Century.

Today

Alfred Marshall, a British economist born in 1842, learned from many of Smith’s discoveries and yet disagreed with Smith on several points. Specifically he argued that man should be equally as important as money and that there must be an emphasis on human welfare, instead of just wealth. Marshall saw that the duty of economics was to improve material conditions, but believed that such improvement would only occur in partnership with social and political forces (“Alfred Marshall,” World Heritage Encyclopedia).

Marshall’s greatest success was an economic text called The Principles of Economics, Volume 1. This work sought to reconcile the classical and modern theories of value to create a decisive and comprehensive tool for economic instruction ("The Principles of Economics," World Heritage Encyclopedia). Much of the success of Marshall’s teaching and The Principles of Economics book was derived from his effective use of diagrams such as his supply and demand graph (The Principles of Economics, Alfred Marshall). His models and graphs gave later economists more effective means from which to learn and teach and are still utilized in educational settings today. Perhaps more importantly, Marshall’s brief references to the social and cultural relations in the industrial districts of England were used as a starting point for late twentieth century work in economic geography ("Alfred Marshall," World Heritage Encyclopedia). Another book in our collection titled, Dealing with Spatial Dimensions of Inequality in Indonesia: Towards a Social Accord notes that today, surveys and other statistical analysis help us to identify uneven or insufficient resource distribution within a given geographical area or people group and make adjustments accordingly (Dealing with Spatial Dimensions of Inequality in Indonesia: Towards a Social Accord, Iyanatul Islam).

Resource scarcity remains a problem for the common man in the 21st-Century but we are privileged access to the wisdom of the greatest minds who have come before us and to the authentic stories of men and women who have lived lives as full of struggle and hardship as our own.

Works Cited

"Adam Smith." World Heritage Encyclopedia. WorldLibrary.org. Web. 2014.

"Alfred Marshall." World Heritage Encyclopedia. WorldLibrary.org. Web. 2014.

Bedale, Charles Lees. Sumerian Tablets from Umma in the John Rylands Library, Manchester. Manchester: The University Press, 1915.

Dougherty, Raymond Philip. Records from Erech, Time of Nabonidus (555-538 B.C.). Volume 6. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1920.

“Economics.” World Heritage Encyclopedia. WorldLibrary.org. Web. 2014.

Islam, Iyanatul. Dealing with Spatial Dimensions of Inequality in Indonesia: Towards a Social Accord. The World Bank, 2003.

Marshall, Alfred. Principles of Economics. Volume 1. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1890.

Rae, John. Life of Adam Smith. London: Macmillan Publishers, Ltd., 1895.

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations. London: Methuen, 1904.

Economics Collections

It has been said that money makes the world go 'round. It's certainly clear that the men and women behind the world's wealth both drive society forward and at times cause it to regress.

The World’s Wealth Exhibit shelves thousands of relevant digital works from collections all over the world including:

Top 100 books on Economics

Looking Backward from 2000 to 1887 (by Bellamy, Edward)
The Morality of Capitalism
The Accumulation of Capital (by Luxemburg, Rosa)
Discourse Upon the Origin and the Founda... (by Rousseau, Jean-Jacques)
Letters of David Ricardo to Thomas Rober... (by Ricardo, David)
The Theory of Moral Sentiments (by Smith, Adam)
The Jews and Modern Capitalism (by Werner Sombert)
The People of the Abyss (by Jack London)
Woman under Capitalism (by Tichenor, Henry Mulford)
Capitalism and Slavery (by Williams Eric.)
Prince, The (Version 2) (by Machiavelli, Niccolo)
The Rights of Property; A Refutation of ... (by Thiers, Louis Adolphe)
The Evolution of Modern Capitalism (by John A. Hobson)
Classless Capitalism (by Stern, Frederick Martin.)
The origin of the family, private proper... (by Engels, Friedrich)

Commerce

Part Iii. Administrative, Procedural and... (by United States Department of the Treasury)
Polynesian : Volume 1, Jan 1854 (by The Polynesian)
The Congo Railway from Matadi to the Sta... (by Compagnie Du Congo Pour Le Commerce Et L Industrie...)
Publications of the American Economic As... (by American Economic Association)
Appendix Moussaoui-Related Fbi Field Age... (by Government Printing Office)
Part IV : Items of General Interest Age ... (by United States Department of the Treasury)
Two essays in economics (by Borden, John)
Suppression of the Opium Trade; The Spee... (by Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl Of)
Polynesian : Volume 1, Dec 1860 (by The Polynesian)
Kazakhstan Living Standards Measurement ... (by The World Bank)
Code Pratique des Assurances Maritimes :... (by Henri Coulon)
Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Grea... (by Geological Survey of Great Britain)
Labour and Protection, A Series of Studi...
Mortuary Experience of the Mutual Life I... (by Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York)
Thomas C. Evans III Named Deputy Superin... (by Sherman, Andrew Magoun)

Department of Commerce Collection

The Fourth of July 2005 (by Department of Commerce)
The 2004 Presidential Election (by Department of Commerce)
Highlights from a Profile of U. S. Expor... (by Corwin, Kristen S.)
Part a : Trade in Goods and Services (Gr... (by Department of Commerce)
Category 6-Sensors and Lasers A. Systems... (by Department of Commerce)
United States Department of Commerce New... (by Omoruyi, Emmanuel O.)
Section Xi - Chapter 54 Manmade Filament... (by Department of Commerce)
Total U.S. Exports (Origin of Movement) ... (by Department of Commerce)
Valuation of Technical Data (Software) (by Monark, C. Harvey)
Total U.S. Exports (Origin of Movement) ... (by Department of Commerce)
The 2005 -- 2007 Office Inspector Genera... (by Frazier, Johnnie E.)
National Technical Information Service (by Frazier, Johnnie E.)
Total U.S. Exports (Origin of Movement) ... (by Department of Commerce)
Total U.S. Exports (Origin of Movement) ... (by Department of Commerce)
Exhibit 6. U. S. Merchandise Trade : Dom... (by Department of Commerce)

Economics Publications Collection

Section 19 : Remittances and Credit, Par... (by The World Bank)
This Comment Letter Is Sent by Summit Ba... (by Johnson, Jennifer J.)
Section Four World Bank Evaluations, Ope... (by Battaile, William G.)
Re: Monthly Registry Access, Project No.... (by Befus, Elizabeth Feigin)
Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual En... (by Pitofsky, Robert)
Mergers in the Petroleum Industry (by Federal Trade Commission)
International Monetary Fund and Internat... (by Nellor, David)
Knowledge Sharing in Development Agencie... (by King, Kenneth)
United States of America Federal Trade C... (by Goldenbang, Michael R.)
Statistical Summary (by United States. Bureau of Agricultural Economics)
Re: In the Matter of Rambus Incorporated... (by Stone, Gregory P.)
Click Refresh Button Investment Climate ... (by Kaufmann, Daniel)
National Security (by Federal Trade Commission)
Ministry of Industry and Minerals-Textil... (by Aal-Jafar, Abdulghany)
(by Federal Trade Commission)

Export and Trade Collection

The Russian Aerospace Sector (by Pederson, Heather)
Coalition Provisional Authority Memorand... (by Bremer, L Pual)
Iraq Weekly Status Report (by Federal Trade Commission)
Nows the Time for Asia Now (by Barry, Doug)
Indonesia's Blossomingfood Processing In... (by Gandakusuma, Paulina)
Trade Opportunities in Australasia (by Federal Trade Commission)
Iraq Weekly Status Report (by Federal Trade Commission)
Australia (by Mccarthy, Jim)
Destination Global Markets (by Ogrady, Mark C.)
Coming to America (by Ferriere, Valerie)
Foreign Trade Zones (by Puccinelli, Dennis)
Iraq Weekly Status Report (by Federal Trade Commission)
Commerce News United States Department o... (by Layman, Heather)
Opening Markets and Bolstering Trade (by Federal Trade Commission)
The U.S. Department of Commerce and the ... (by Willkens, Diane)

Federal Trade Commission

United States District Court for the Nor... (by Federal Trade Commission)
Online Access and Security Committee Acc...
Federal Trade Commission
Annual Report of the Federal Trade Commi... (by Colver, William B.)
In the Supreme Court of the United State... (by Waxman, Seth P.)
United States of America before the Fede... (by Cregan, James R.)
United States of America before Federal ... (by Albert, Bradley S.)
Re: Can-Spam Act Rulemaking, Project No.... (by Hickman, Dixie Elise)
Federal Trade Commission Public Workshop...
Re: Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers A... (by Hanian, Annette)
2002 Audit of the Bbb Auto Line Includin...
Business Controls, Lnc. (by Ferraro, Eugene F.)
Re: Can-Spam Act Rulemaking, Project No.... (by Beasley, Marvin)
United States of America before the Fede... (by Hillyer, Gregory L.)
United States District Court for the Sou... (by Hone, Elizabeth A.)

Small Business Administration Collection

Marketing for Small Business: An Overvie... (by Small Business Administration)
Small Business Administration Pt. 108 (by Small Business Administration)
Business Plan for Small Service Firms (by Small Business Administration)
U.S. Small Business Administration the S... (by Small Business Administration)
The Facts about Starting a Small Busines... (by Small Business Administration)
Drug Free Workplaces (by Small Business Administration)
Subpart B : Representation and Indemnifi... (by Small Business Administration)
Un Enfoque Inteligente para Proteger Su ... (by Small Business Administration)
Selecting the Legal Structure for Your B... (by Brittin, Jocelyn West)
Small Business Administration : Advertis... (by Bruneau, Edmond A.)
Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepre... (by Small Business Administration)
Enforcement of Nondiscrimination on the ... (by Small Business Administration)
Small Business Development Centers (by Small Business Administration)
Financing for the Small Business (by Small Business Administration)
Strategic Planning for the Growing Busin... (by Safranski, Scott R.)

Finance

Fort Worth, Texas Meacham Field Students... (by Library of Congress)
Rhode Island: 2002 Economic Census Profe... (by Kincannon, Charles Louis)
Draft St. Regis Watershed Total Maximum ... Volume: 2007 Appendix F (by Montana.Dept. of Environmental Quality)
Untitled : Photograph 8C31689V, 1935 (by Library of Congress)
Contract Management Impact of Strategy t... (by General Accounting Office)
Untitled : Photograph 8B23229V, 1935 (by Library of Congress)
Life Without Principle (by Thoreau, Henry David)
The Papers (by James, Henry)
Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Rep... (by Scalia, John)
A Half Century of Boston's Building : Th... (by Damrell, Charles Stanhope)
The Emporium of Arts and Sciences (by John Redman Coxe)
Sketches of the Early History of Real Es... (by Fairchild, Henry Shields)
Code of fair competition for the optical...
Department of Education Submission for O... (by Arrington, Angela C.)
First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotrop... (by National Aeronautics and Space Administration)