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In response to Eric Schliesser:  
 
I think when Smith states that the propensity to truck, barter and exchange is a necessary
consequence (result) of the faculties of reason and speech that the reasoning ability he
speaks of is what we would now refer to as inductive reasoning. That is, the type of
reasoning that derives principles or facts from observation. If this type of reasoning is
what Smith specifically had in mind, I believe it was, then it was intuition rather than
imagination that first enabled human society to perceive the benefits gained by trade. I
see nothing in his somewhat ambiguous phrasing that would lead me to believe that Smith
was in accord with the Socialistic principle that people are born as blank slates and,
therefore, naturally subject to any current form of Capitalistic corruption, Utopian
idealism or other variety of social accident. I do agree, however, with your caution about
using secondary rather than primary source documentation when attempting radical
interpretations or revisions of Smith's WON.
 
Chas Anderson 
 
 
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