What would Adam Smith say?? PJ O'Rourke

[Skaerin]

Fascist central planning. Can someone tell me how this person is supposed centrist when he makes snide remarks about Atheists and quotes various comments out of context in order to support libertarian views?

Oh, and he belongs to the Cato institute a PARTISAN libertarian thinktank. Why does the CIS invite obviously partisan speakers? Because it is not nonpartisan as we think. CIS is biased and partisan, please stop pretending you're not.

[TheRedGrant]

Adam Smith supported Navigation act, a mercantalist policy. P.J. O'Rouke didn't say anything about it in his review of "Wealth of Nation".

[hometubing]

Just finished reading "The Wealth of Nations" and have to say it's an amazing book. It's a shame to see it perverted by knaves to serve some partisan ambition. This man chooses, like a pastor does from a bible, the little snippets that color his narrow vision of a bigger picture.

[Bellantoni]

@hometubing For a proper exposé of Adam Smith by someone like you and I who have actually read Wealth of Nations, see Amartya Sen's lecture dated 3-26-2010 on youtube (it should be the first thing that appears when you type: Amartya Sen Adam Smith into youtube.)

[fieryjalapenos]

this is such bull shit, it's sparknotes economics and wtf smith was not the only architect of american capitalism, so, mr o'rourke, think again

[Vayor]

Academics who study economic history mostly identify A Smith as more of a centrist than US conservatives like to believe as Smith does identify limitations of the market and a role for the state in economic intervention. A completely free market would have heroine traded perfectly legally and may cause some negative social consequences. Smith was very much a pragmatist and almost always outlined an example demonstrating a limitation of what he was proposing.

[1daveyp]

Good to see PJ still talking sense and still being funny.

[dogagas]

finally someone who understands economics

[Outoftheclique]

@dogagas HAHA thats for sure :)

[fomastephanovitch]

Testify PJ!