The Essential Principles of the Wealth of Nations illustrated, in opposition to some false doctrines of Dr. Adam Smith, and others.

First edition of this rare early refutation of Adam Smith's economic doctrines, vigorously defending the position of the French Physiocrats that Smith was widely recognized to have superseded. Though practically nothing is known of Gray, his work (though not his name) was cited by Karl Marx and Edwin R. A. Seligman. "Published well after Smith's death, Gray attacks his treatment of productivity and agriculture in particular. Gray confidently re-asserts that 'the principal and most essential cause of the prosperity of a state is the ingenuity and labour of its inhabitants exercised upon the fertility of the soil' (p. 4). He goes on to criticize Smith for crediting manufacturing as a contributor to national wealth and for confusing the distinction between productive and unproductive labor. In Gray's estimation, Adam Smith's 'verboseness and ambiguity clearly show how a man of ability, when overlooking fundamental principles, may speculate upon the surface of things, without ever getting to the kernel' (p. 15)" (History of Economic Thought website). Though Gray upholds most of the physiocratic tenets, he does regard the landowning class as unproductive and promotes a single tax on land. ESTC T95118. Octavo (203 x 127 mm), pp. 144, 8. Contemporary half calf, rebacked to style, marbled sides, red speckled edges. Contemporary bookplate of Worcester Library, engraved by James Ross. Rubbed, contents a little spotted. A good copy.…