Not too bad Lord Byron, although we have some misgiving about using the term "MISTER" in connection with Adam Smith (an allusion we feel that indicates an attempt to belittle his ideas by diminishing his status) He was, of course not a "MISTER" but a Doctor, as shown upon the following title page:



We are also not au fait sufficiently with Coniston (though we once camped there in our youth) to know what (if any) connection Dr. Smith may have had with it, since he was born in Kirkaldy and buried in Edinburgh (which we know is so far further north as to be in a different country):



Those who, in writing verses, use the word "versus" should be careful with its spelling (unless they are attempting some poetic irony - although overall the spelling was not too bad).

Do you intend publishing it? If so where?

Baz

the MISTER was just to 'put down' mr smith, coniston is where ruskin lived, it was written outside the pub,there,one afternoon, a few people have said they like it very much

ruskin said something about the price being paid for producing pin heads, smith was right about division of labour being natural but the industrial revolution took it to new heights

We have much studied and much perfected, of late, the great civilized invention of the division of labour; only we give it a false name. It is not, truly speaking, the labour that it divided; but the men: — Divided into mere segments of men — broken into small fragments and crumbs of life; so that all the little piece of intelligence that is left in a man is not enough to make a pin, or a nail, but exhausts itself in making the point of a pin or the head of a nail. Now it is a good and desirable thing, truly, to make many pins in a day; but if we could only see with what crystal sand their points were polished, — sand of human soul, much to be magnified before it can be discerned for what it is — we should think that there might be some loss in it also.

...

We blanch cotton, and strengthen steel, and refine sugar, and shape pottery; but to brighten, to strengthen, to refine, or to form a single living spirit, never enters into our estimate of advantages.

I am saying ruskin was right, you can make more pins but at what cost ?

His point was that the factories produce goods but should society not produce noble and happy people ?

People are people, not units of production.

William Morris was a huge fan of ruskins and read everything he wrote, he was hugely influential.

I think via studying venice,history etc. and being a bit of a bible basher he realised that over specialisation to produce more was not as important as producing a happy society.