What is the author's tone in An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith?

The tone of the work is educational. The scope of it is grand, and it is in part for this that it is so famous. The author writes in a manner that is accessible. Everyone secondary education will be able to read it, though it takes some effort to master it. The work serves as a compendium, in that an entire course or set of courses in economics could be formed from the body of knowledge contained within this one "book of books."

Adam Smith also writes in a manner that is objective. Principles are shown through examples. In this way, he is able to display for readers how the principles work. He does this using a number of nations as examples including his own nation. In his case, the affects on the international trade between Scotland and England are most relevant. The examples may seem sweeping in how general they are, but that is because they are based upon basic trends.

The author comes across as pleasant. He writes in an effort to clarify. His narrative voice is quite informative. While it is clear that he writes from a Scottish male 18th century bias, he makes no effort to hide this. Because he does not disguise this at all, readers can see it clearly. The author does show that he understands that his bias affects his perceptions.

Again, the work is well written. It is informative and educational. While it can serve a general market, it is more for the very curious, especially those interested in economics. It is monumental in that it gathers together knowledge about economics and puts these ideas together so they form what can be called "the first official theory of economics." The author contrasts domestic and international economics and displays multiple cases of how they interact. As a consequence, readers can look at their own nations today and see how these same principles are functioning in the world at this time.