# toil-and-trouble

## Definition

The physical and mental effort, hardship, and sacrifice required to acquire or produce goods and services. Smith uses this phrase to describe what commodities really cost to the person who wants to acquire them, and what they are really worth to someone who has acquired them and wants to exchange them. This concept represents the fundamental human cost that underlies all economic value and serves as the basis for his definition of real price.

## Source Chapter

Book 1, Chapter 5: "OF THE REAL AND NOMINAL PRICE OF COMMODITIES, OR OF THEIR PRICE IN LABOUR, AND THEIR PRICE IN MONEY."

## Context

Smith introduces "toil and trouble" in his opening discussion of real price, using it to explain what commodities actually cost to acquire and what they are worth when exchanged. He argues that this toil and trouble is saved when we purchase goods with money or other commodities, and that it is this saving of effort that constitutes the real value of exchange. The concept connects directly to his labour theory of value.

## Economic Domain

Production

## Smith's Original Wording

"The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What every thing is really worth to the man who has acquired it and who wants to dispose of it, or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people."

## Modern Interpretation

Toil and trouble represents the total human cost of production, including both physical labour and the mental effort, discomfort, and sacrifice involved. This concept anticipates modern discussions about the true social cost of production, including considerations of worker wellbeing, working conditions, and the broader human impact of economic activity beyond simple monetary calculations.
