Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree

Hear the wise declaration of Adam Smith, father of modern economics: “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.” These words, spoken in the eighteenth century, are like stone pillars holding up the temple of prosperity. They remind us that the greatness of nations is not built on endless decrees, nor on the heavy hand of rulers, but upon a few simple and eternal foundations: peace, justice, and the freedom for men and women to labor without crushing burdens.

The meaning is plain yet profound. A people do not need endless rules, nor the micromanagement of kings, to rise from poverty to wealth. What they need first is peace, for war devours wealth faster than it can ever be made. Then, they need easy taxes, for excessive burdens strangle enterprise and rob the poor of their reward. Finally, they need justice, fair and steady, to ensure that the strong do not crush the weak and that contracts are honored. With these three, Smith tells us, the natural energy of mankind will do the rest. The farmer will till, the merchant will trade, the craftsman will invent, and the nation will flourish almost as if by unseen hands.

The origin of this wisdom lies in the era of Enlightenment, when thinkers sought to understand the forces that guided nations. Adam Smith, in his great work The Wealth of Nations (1776), observed the rise of commerce in Britain and elsewhere. He saw that prosperity did not require grand designs by rulers, but rather a system where the natural order of industry and exchange could flourish without fear, oppression, or injustice. His quote is both a critique of tyranny and a hymn to the quiet power of liberty.

History bears witness to his truth. Consider the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, a small nation surrounded by great powers. Though modest in size, it established peace at home, maintained relatively light taxes to encourage trade, and upheld justice in its mercantile courts. The result was a golden age: Amsterdam became the center of world finance, Dutch ships carried goods across the seas, and art, science, and philosophy flourished. The wealth of that little nation outshone empires far greater in land and armies.

By contrast, think of Spain, which in the same age grew rich from the gold and silver of the New World but squandered its wealth in endless wars and crushing taxation. There was little peace, and the common people reaped little reward from the empire’s treasures. Injustice flourished as privilege ruled over enterprise. Thus Spain, rich in appearance, sank in truth, proving Smith’s point: without peace, justice, and fair burdens, wealth is but a shadow that quickly fades.

The lesson for us is both national and personal. Just as a state requires these three pillars, so too does an individual life. In your heart, pursue peace, avoiding needless conflict. In your dealings, be fair and merciful, practicing your own justice. And in your labor, do not overburden yourself or others with greed or needless demands, but let there be balance, an “easy tax” upon your time and energy. Then, by the natural course of things, your life too will grow fruitful, steady, and prosperous.

Therefore, let us hold fast to this wisdom: guard peace, honor justice, and demand fairness in the burdens of life. For these are not lofty dreams, but the solid ground upon which civilizations rise. When rulers remember this, nations prosper; when they forget it, nations decline. And when you remember it in your own life, your soul will be as a city flourishing with order, abundance, and rest. For the natural course of things, once rightly tended, bears fruit beyond measure.