I watched Er Chuang’s short video, and everything went numb!

[Let’s talk about the first responsibility first: foreign trade. ]

[In the view of mercantilists, foreign trade is the area that a country’s ruler should be most concerned about. ]

[Because this is the main battlefield for competing with other countries for real money. ]

[But Adam Smith does not agree with this view. ]

[In his view, most of the measures taken by mercantilists in foreign trade are just unnecessary actions that disrupt the free market. ]

[For example, at that time, the British Empire and the Gallic Empire were competing with each other in the international market. ]

[The British Empire imposed a very high tariff on wine imported from the Gallic Empire, which seriously affected the amount of Gallic wine entering the British Empire. ]

[According to the mercantilist idea, the British Empire should produce wine in their own country, so as to make up for the gap on the supply side. 】

……

"Yes, that's the way it should be done."

Many ancient people in the past dynasties nodded.

They also thought it should be done.

However.

Some smart ancient people heard something wrong.

"Is there any problem with doing this?"

These ancient people pondered in their hearts.

……

[Adam Smith thought this was ridiculous, because with the climatic conditions of the British Empire, it would be very expensive to produce wine of the same quality as that of the Gallic Empire. ]

[Adam Smith calculated that the cost of making a decent bottle of wine in the British Empire was about thirty times that of importing a bottle of Gallic wine. ]

[It is completely illogical for the British Empire to use high tariffs to protect its own wine industry. 】

……

“This…”

Based on common sense, many ancient people in all dynasties felt that this situation did not seem reasonable.

For the same thing, it is impossible to give up the cheap one and insist on the expensive one.

……

[Adam Smith believed that in the international market, countries, like individuals, should also participate in the division of labor. 】

[Since tailors do not need to make their own shoes and shoemakers do not need to sew their own clothes, is it not the same for trade between countries? 】

[The British Empire exports whiskey and imports wine from the Gallic people. This is only good for both countries, not bad. 】

……

The Great Qin Plane.

A word emerged in Qin Shihuang’s mind: “Exchange what we have.”

Each country has its own unique products with advantages, which are difficult or costly for other countries to produce.

In this case, it is naturally beneficial for every country to trade with each other.

However.

If they all become one country, wouldn’t it be better?

This thought came to Qin Shihuang’s mind.

……

[However. ]

[Adam Smith also did not think that the country should completely exempt tariffs.. 】

[In his opinion, tariffs are a necessary weapon. 】

……

The Great Han Emperor Wudi plane.

Liu Che nodded slightly.

In the environment of later generations, tariffs cannot be avoided.

Without the protection of tariffs, those economically underdeveloped countries will be the food on the plate of economically developed countries.

For example, after the Cactus Country and the Eagle Sauce Country signed a free trade agreement to abolish tariffs, their own country's agriculture was quickly destroyed by the Eagle Sauce Country.

……

[Under certain circumstances, the country should increase tariffs in order to gain more important interests. 】

[In this case, the easiest thing for us to think of is when an industry involves national security. 】

[For this kind of industry, the country certainly has the power and the need to provide trade protection. 】

……

The Great Ming Taizu plane.

The first thing that Zhu Yuanzhang thought of was agriculture.

A country without food is unstable.

In his eyes, ensuring a country's food security is the most important thing.

As a person who has not had enough food since childhood, he knows too well the serious consequences of ordinary people not having enough food.

……

[In addition, tariffs can also be used to maintain market fairness. ]

[In the country where the sun never sets at that time, soap, salt, leather goods and candles produced in the country were subject to additional taxes for various reasons. ]

[Adam Smith believed that in this case, the country where the sun never sets could impose the same tariffs on these imported goods as domestic ones, in order to put domestic and foreign merchants on the same starting line. ]

[Finally, when a country creates trade barriers specifically for our country, we can also use tariffs as a counter-measure to force the other party to stop such malicious behavior. ]

……

Many ancient people from all dynasties nodded.

This is fair.

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di's thoughts were scattered.

He remembered how the Western powers had blasted open the door to China.

"Fair?"

Zhu Di shook his head.

Adding or reducing tariffs is not as simple as Adam Smith said.

Behind this, the essence is still a contest of national strength.

For example, in this life, when his Ming Dynasty starts the industrial revolution and has extremely high productivity, it will definitely dump goods everywhere.

At that time, will he allow other countries to raise tariffs and establish trade barriers?

That will definitely not happen.

...

[But Adam Smith reminds us that tariffs are a dangerous weapon. Once used improperly, a country may hurt itself. ]

[Raising tariffs will inevitably lead to rising prices, which will first harm the interests of domestic consumers. 】

【In foreign relations, raising tariffs may also cause the loss of trading partners, and even lead to foreign countries forming trade alliances and isolating the country. 】

【Therefore, Adam Smith believedBecause, although the state has the responsibility to control the order of foreign trade through means such as tariffs, this control must be cautious and restrained. 】

……

The meaning of this passage was understood by many emperors of all dynasties.

However.

This "caution and restraint" was not taken seriously by many emperors.

For them, the most important thing now is to collect taxes first.

For example, in the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, dynasties with relatively developed foreign maritime trade, they began to actually promote this matter.

……

[The second function: national defense security and domestic security. ]

[In Adam Smith's view, the funds used for national defense must be borne by the state, or in other words, by all citizens. ]

[The reason for doing so is very realistic. ]

[Because during war, soldiers cannot engage in any production activities. ]

[They cannot support themselves through labor as in peacetime. And it is precisely because of their fighting on the front line that other citizens in the rear can continue to carry out daily economic activities safely. 】

[Therefore, these protected people have the responsibility to support the soldiers who fight for them. 】

[In addition to defending against foreign enemies, the country must also maintain domestic security. 】

……

For this responsibility of the country.

The ancient people of all dynasties can understand it.

After all, protecting national security is something that any country must do.

……

[The third function: infrastructure construction.

[Why must infrastructure construction be undertaken by the government? 】

[This is because large projects such as bridge and road construction require a lot of capital, but their return rate is very slow. 】

[In Adam Smith's time, large-scale industrial production had not yet begun, and no capitalist could come up with so much money to invest in infrastructure at once. 】

[Even if there was, the long return period would discourage them. 】

[Infrastructure construction is not suitable for individual investment, but it is essential for the development of commercial society. 】

[With a smooth transportation network, goods from all over the country can be smoothly transported to the market. 】

……

The plane of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin kept thinking in his heart.

The great role and value of infrastructure construction have been reflected in many previous videos.

Whether it is Longguo or Yingjiangguo, there are similar times of large-scale infrastructure construction.

Even if the Tang Dynasty has not yet started the industrial revolution and is still an agricultural society, infrastructure construction also plays a huge role in national development.

"Build cement roads!"

Li Shimin has a clear direction for infrastructure construction in his mind.

According to the words of later generations, if you want to be rich, build roads first.

……

[In this case,This necessary work can only be presided over by the state. 】 (To read the novels of Baoshuang, go to Feilu Novel Network!)

[However, Adam Smith believes that infrastructure construction is different from the national defense and domestic security mentioned earlier. 】

[The cost of maintaining domestic and foreign security must be borne by all citizens, but infrastructure does not necessarily require everyone to pay for it. 】

[This is first because some infrastructure can bring economic returns in itself. They can recover costs by charging users and even afford the cost of daily maintenance. 】

[Our current highways, railways and subways adopt this self-sustaining model. 】

……[]

The plane of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Biao:

"Boss, you said that in the future, after our Ming Dynasty builds cement roads, we have to pay to use them. What do you think?"

He felt that the words on the giant screen made sense. Infrastructure built by the state can be charged.

For example, in the previous video, he saw that the Dragon Kingdom in the future would collect tolls for highways.

And the cement road in the Ming Dynasty is equivalent to the highway in the Ming Dynasty, and the toll is very reasonable.

And Zhu Biao also thinks so.

"Dad, I think it is justified. Once this cement road is built, it will help various businesses save a lot of time in transporting goods. They can make more money because of it, and it is reasonable to pay a little toll."

Zhu Biao targeted merchants as the main toll recipients.

After a pause, he added:

"If you don't want to pay, you can continue to take the original dirt road."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

He also thought so.

...

[But some infrastructure cannot be charged. ]

[For example, the highways in our city, when you go to get off work every day, you can't just drive your car onto the road and pay a "highway use fee". This is obviously too troublesome and unreasonable. 】

【For such infrastructure that cannot sustain itself, who should bear the cost of building and maintaining it? 】

【Adam Smith said that this cost should be borne by the state's taxes. 】

……

Many emperors in the past dynasties thought about it in their hearts.

Then they found that it was indeed the case.

Some infrastructure must be built and maintained by the state for free.

……

【However, how to collect taxes is an art. 】

【Adam Smith believes that for such facilities, taxes should be collected based on a basic principle: whoever benefits, pays taxes. 】

【In London at that time, the cost of street lights and paving roads was allocated from the taxes paid by Londoners. 】

【Since street lights and roads are convenient for Londoners, it makes no sense to collect this money from Edinburgh people or Kirkcaldy people. 】

……

Many emperors throughout the dynastiesNodded.

"Whoever benefits, pays the tax", there is nothing wrong with this statement.

It is quite reasonable.

……

[The last function: basic education. ]

[Adam Smith also proposed that the state should assume the responsibility of providing basic education to the citizens. ]

[He knew very well how important education is to a person's growth. ]

[Even if he did not receive many years of higher education like him, a good basic education can help a young person open his horizons and see a wider world. ]

……

Hearing this.

Many ancient people in all dynasties nodded in agreement.

As for studying hard and getting an education, the Chinese people have always attached great importance to it from ancient times to the present.

……

[In addition, from an economic point of view, education can also correct some of the drawbacks brought about by economic development. 】

[Although Adam Smith loudly praised the role of social division of labor in promoting productivity, he also keenly predicted that division of labor might restrict personal development. 】

[If a worker stays at the same post for many years, his vision will gradually be limited to the things in front of him. 】

[Such a person may lose his imagination for unknown things. 】

[Adam Smith believes that narrow-mindedness and dry imagination will become obstacles to economic development. 】

[Therefore, the state has the responsibility to maintain the sound mind of every citizen through basic education. 】

……

The plane of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Looking at this passage, Li Shimin thought of many countries in later generations, including Longguo, that provided compulsory basic education for the people.

"Fuji, Xuanling, do you think that it is possible for our Tang Dynasty to provide compulsory education for the people like in later generations?"

Li Shimin asked Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling.

"This..."

Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were stunned for a moment.

Then Changsun Wuji answered first:

"Your Majesty is kind and compassionate to the people. This is naturally a good thing, but the cost is huge and I am afraid that the national treasury cannot afford it."

"Lord Changsun is right. With the current national strength of our Tang Dynasty, we do not have this ability."

Fang Xuanling also said immediately.

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

"It seems that we can only implement this matter after the Tang Dynasty starts the industrial revolution and makes the country richer."

Li Shimin thought in his heart.

...

[In addition. 】

【There is another very interesting content in Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations". 】

【That is, he discussed the economic development of our ancient China. 】

【He not only described the prosperity of the ancient Chinese economy (of Chano), but also pointed out the problem of the long-term stagnation of the ancient Chinese economy, and analyzed the reasons for the stagnation from the perspective of institutional factors. 】

……

Many emperors of successive dynastiesThe emperor's eyes fixed and he looked more seriously.

Through the previous video content, they knew that this man named Adam Smith was a very powerful economist, and this "The Wealth of Nations" was also an extremely famous economics book, known as the pioneering work of later economics.

Although they did not agree with some of the content, this did not affect their attention to this book.

Because of their doubts, many of them were because they received more information from later generations from the high-altitude giant screen and had more insights.

If not, they would probably also regard "The Wealth of Nations" as a sacred book.

Therefore.

At this moment, they were very curious about how this "The Wealth of Nations" analyzed the economic problems of ancient China, especially the institutional factors that hindered economic development.

……

[Let's talk about Adam Smith's analysis of the reasons for the long-term stagnation of ancient Chinese economic development. ]

[He believed that it could be mainly attributed to two aspects: unfair distribution and isolation. 】

【The most prominent manifestation of unfair distribution is the disparity between the rich and the poor. 】

【In Smith's view, the disparity between the rich and the poor is not conducive to economic growth. 】

【In particular, Adam Smith mentioned many times that the wages of ancient Chinese workers were too low. 】

【He said that ancient China was the richest country in the world, but workers worked all day long and received very little wages. "The poverty of the lower class people in China far exceeded the poverty of the poorest people in Europe." 】

【But on the other hand, the "high officials and wealthy people" of the feudal dynasty of China were much richer than the richest people in Europe, especially the emperors of the feudal dynasty of China, who controlled huge wealth. 】

【Using economic principles to analyze, this phenomenon of disparity between the rich and the poor in China at that time was not conducive to population growth and the expansion of consumption scale, nor was it conducive to mobilizing the production enthusiasm of workers, and would naturally hinder economic development. Xian】

……

After listening to this passage,

Many ancient people in all dynasties were extremely shocked.

And many emperors in all dynasties were shocked and angry. .