Smith notes the need for education, and suggests that the government promote education. Smith is famous for advocating laissez-faire. Comments and Questions on Particular Passages Book I Ch. Compare this passage to Plato. Smith claims that the difference in consumption between the rich and the poor in Europe is smaller than the difference between the European poor and the African king.
Evidence suggests that men have traded as long as they have had language.
The market gets bigger if transportation costs fall. A larger market size allows more specialization. Because the laborer doesn't own the land and materials he uses. In this passage, Smith describes the determination of wages as a power struggle between employers and workers. The outcome simply depends on who has more power.