An inquiry into the permanent causes of the decline and fall of powerful and wealthy nations

BOOK I.

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CHAP. I.

_Introduction and Plan of the Work.--Explanation of what the Author understands by Wealthy and Powerful Nations, and of the General Causes of Wealth and Power_.

One of the most solid foundations on which an enquirer can proceed in matters of political economy, as connected with the fate of nations, seems to be by an appeal to history, a view...