Abstract

A pair of metaphors, Labour-Father and Land-Mother, were often used in preclassical political economy to represent the production of wealth in conceptual terms. The outcome was an organicist image of wealth. The history of these two metaphors shows how the theoretical vision to which they refer changed over time. In particular, from William Petty to Physiocracy, generative power was initially attributed to the Labour-Father and later to the Land- Mother. Finally, a new theory on "the nature and causes of wealth" which did not imply the use of these traditional metaphors was set out in Adam Smith's work.