13 August 2003

Arnold twists Adam Smith, Norman Solomon, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 August 2003 An interesting article about Adam Smith. Adam was an eighteenth century economist (and political philosopher) that is an icon of modern Republicanism. However, like their fascination with Ayn Rand and Objectivism, their understanding is frequently misguided and often misconstrued. Arnold,while unlike modern Republicans in most ways, is embracing Republicanism in its most fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between government and commerce. Be that as it may, modern Republicanism has produced some of the finest minds of the 18th, and perhaps the 17th Century. Perhaps that is why they call themselves "conservatives". Here are some excerpts from the article: "Smith was no champion of workers. Yet, in the context of present-day politics, it's a good guess that he would dissociate himself from Schwarzenegger and other free-marketeers who claim to be walking in his footsteps. While Schwarzenegger proclaims that policy-makers in Sacramento should become more friendly to the corporate sector, such ideology flies in the face of Smith's actual words." "In "The Wealth of Nations," published 227 years ago, Adam Smith wrote with realism about manufacturers and merchants. He described them as "men whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who have generally an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it." "The wealthy business leaders who have raced to support Schwarzenegger's campaign are among those who have "an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public." And Schwarzenegger looks like a very useful tool." Norman Solomon is executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy based in San Francisco. 4:39:16 AM    comment [] trackback []

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