Prompt: Property and Inequality

ethics economics adam smith for high school inequality high school welfare

Use this quotation from Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations to discuss property and inequality with your students.

“Bellringers” are classroom tools that help set the tone or introduce a topic in the classroom. Adam Smith Works bellringers use quotations from and activities based on the work of Adam Smith, allowing you to illustrate the long history of the ideas you will explore in your classroom by grounding them in great books.

Adam Smith Works Prompts are short quotations that you can discuss with your students to set the tone for your lesson. They cover topics from economics to history to moral philosophy.

Bellringers are presented as slides ready to pull and use in your classroom. On each slide, you can find speaking notes and links to more information.

Click the hyperlinked quotation (for example, look for something like (WN 1.ii.2) to see the quotation in the context of the full text.
- Use the "Find" feature in the left-hand menu to search for the first few words in the quotation and see it in context.
- Alternatively, click on "Contents" to find the relevant chapter of the text. "WN 1.ii" is Wealth of Nations Book 1, chapter 2. "TMS I.iii.1" is The Theory of Moral Sentiments Book 1, chapter 3, section 1.
  (The last number in the citation refers to the paragraph in the section.)
Where available, click "Click here for more about this quotation" to visit a short article about the passage in question.
Speaking notes suggest topics for discussion when using each quotation.

Slide: Prompt—Property and inequality

“Wherever there is great property, there is great inequality.” (WN V.II.2)

Do your students believe this is true? Why might it be true? Why might it be false?

See the quotation in context as part of the full online text of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations here. Use the "Find" feature in the left-hand menu to search for the first few words in the quotation and see it in context.

Read more about this quotation at the OLL Entry. You may choose to share this piece with your students following their discussion. Do they agree or disagree with the explanation provided?