872 B
872 B
Commercial Family Duration Pattern
Definition
The observation that very old families possessing considerable estates for many generations are rare in commercial countries but common in countries with little commerce, explained by the tendency of commercial wealth to dissipate through extravagant personal spending while simple agricultural societies maintain wealth within families.
Source Chapter
Book III, Chapter 4
Context
Smith's final observation on the social effects of commerce, noting that commercial countries see wealth dissipate through vanity and lack of bounds on personal expense, while simple nations maintain family wealth through the consumable nature of their property.
Economic Domain
General Theory