Richard gave me one of his extra-rotten weasel-eyed green-toothed grins.
Hope this helps!
<span>In his book Walden, a reflection on the act of living as simply as possible, Thoreau spoke at length on the impact of technology on our daily lives and humanity as a whole. He believed that technology was leading to a degradation of our relations with one another and with the natural world. He cited the construction of a telegraph line from Maine to Texas, saying,"We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph line from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate." We can see them same in our modern day quest for the "next big thing"; snapping up the latest iPhone for hundreds of dollars, posting ever more on social media, with many having nothing important to contribute to a wider world despite access to that world at an unprecedented level. As a society, we have at our fingertips the lessons and work of all the world's great thinkers and scholars, and yet a great number of people use the potential at hand to watch funny cat videos. I believe that this is a sign of the degradation that Thoreau spoke of made manifest.</span>
<span>The answer is The Wealth of Nations. This is an essential work of financial and social theory by Adam Smith, circulated in 1776. Its whole title was Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In it he examined the association between work and the manufacture of a nation's wealth.</span>
