Adam Smith: Navy > Army

In my previous post “The Army as Lottery“, we saw how according to Adam Smith in Paragraph 30 of Chapter 10 of Book I of The Wealth of Nations, “romantic hopes” of heroism and glory are what motivate many young men to enlist in the army. But for Smith, enlisting in the army is like buying a lottery ticket: the “prize” or jackpot could be a beneficial one — since you could win “honour and distinction” — but it could also be a detrimental one — you could be killed or maimed! (WN, I.x.30) Curiously, however, Smith is generally far more sanguine about naval occupations than military careers on land, for he opens the next paragraph (Para. 31) with the following disclaimer: “The lottery of the sea is not altogether so disadvantageous as that of the army.” (WN, I.x.31) Why does Smith see the navy in a more favorable light than the army? There are two reasons why. One reason is practical. There is a market for sailors, not so much for soldiers. At the time Smith was writing The Wealth of…