Profit Over People: on Budget & Economy

Adam Smith called for equality of outcome plus free market

Is it a law of nature that we must keep to these? Not if we take seriously the doctrines of classical liberalism. Adam Smith’s praise of division of labor is well known, but not his denunciation of its inhuman effects, which will turn people into objects, something that must be prevented by government action to overcome the destructive force of the “invisible hand.” Also not well advertised is Smith’s belief that government “regulation in favour of the workmen is always just and equitable,” though not “when in favour of the masters.” Or his call for equality of outcome, which was at the heart of his argument for free markets.