In terms of Smith writing about his present conditions, I think it was accurate enough for mercantile society. The problem (besides his not-always-reasonable history) is that because he often failed to distinguish first principles from idiosyncracies, the logic of his observations shatters in any other context (e.g. global capitalism).
In terms of Smith writing about his present conditions, I think it was accurate enough for mercantile society. The problem (besides his not-always-reasonable history) is that because he often failed to distinguish first principles from idiosyncracies, the logic of his observations shatters in any other context (e.g. global capitalism).