Quoting Adam Smith Out of Context
The actual quote from The Wealth of Nations is:
” It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.”
By cutting out the first seven words of the sentence you considerably change the meaning.
Submitted by David D. Friedman, son of Milton and Rose.
Surely, something more than that in proportion implicates as necessity responsibility and contribution beyond the material construction of capital and its miserliness? And considering Smith saying that is it not very unreasonable that they do so, this could easily be interpreted to consider the more meaningful gravitas of action and alleviation of social mobility and efficiency, which I am very skeptical that modern profiteering neoliberalism gives priority to.
@10 months ago#david friedman #submission #adam smith #politics #economics
