From The Freeman
By Lawrence W. Reed
As I listened to this year’s presidential candidates discuss economic matters, one thought came repeatedly to mind: Oh, how much they could learn from Adam Smith! Since it’s obviously possible for people to reach the pinnacle of politics without seeming to know much about either economics or Smith, perhaps we’re overdue for a little reminder about both.Smith was baptized on June 5, 1723, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. It’s not known for certain, but it is presumed that he was either born on that very day or a day or two before. Whichever date it was, he entered a world that his reason and eloquence would later transform.
For 300 years before Smith, western Europe was dominated by an economic system known as mercantilism. Though it provided for modest improvements in life and liberty over the feudalism that came before, it was a system rooted in error that stifled enterprise and treated individuals as pawns of the state.
Mercantilist thinkers believed the world’s wealth was a fixed pie, giving rise to endless conflict among nations. After all, if you think there’s only so much and you want more, you’ve got to take it from someone else.
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