The interest of [businessmen] is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public ... The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order ... ought never to be adopted, till after having been long and carefully examined ... with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men ... who have generally an interest to deceive and even oppress the public.
- Adam Smith
More Quotes By Adam Smith
By pursuing his own interest (the individual) frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he... It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our... It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our... People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in... In raising the price of commodities, the rise of wages operates in the same manner as simple interest... No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are... The first thing you have to know is yourself. A man who knows himself can step outside himself... A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.Most government... But avarice and ambition in the rich, in the poor the hatred of labour and the love of... Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.
The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is... Wherever there is great property there is great inequality. For one very rich man there must be at... Every individual is continually exerting himself to find out the most advantageous employment for whatever capital he can... What can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health, who is out of... Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this – no dog exchanges bones with...
Leave a comment
