Adam Smith
1. He is saying that everyone does what they do for their own benefit, not to help others.
2. Adam Smith believes the butcher does his job because the butcher cuts and sells meat to
make money. He will use this money to feed himself and his family.
3. I do agree with Adam Smith. I feel like most jobs that people have are for self-interest. But I
think that there are some people that don't just work for themselves. Most doctors work because
they want to help others. Also, if you are enlisted in the military, your sole purpose is to protect
the people.
4. competition is a good thing because it regulates the economy. Competition forces producers to
make their products better than everyone else's, which always benefits the consumer.
5. I think it is a good thing that the industry of mankind is being used to supply the luxuries of
life and not the necessities. I think that it is important for consumers to buy what they want. For
example, a car is considered a luxury. It is not a basic need, but I want it, so I should be able to
get it. But having a car can also benefit others because when you have a car, you have more
freedom, and you are able to go to work farther away from your house, you can spend your
money in different places, and you can travel. Having the opportunity to buy what you want is
very important for the economy.
6. Smith believed that the government should enforce contracts and grant patents and copyrights
to encourage inventions and new ideas.
7. workers in factories were so productive because they only performed a few operations; if a
person had to complete more than just a few operations, the time involved in completing tasks
would increase.
8. Smith argued that by giving everyone freedom to produce and exchange goods as they pleased
(free trade) and opening the markets up to domestic and foreign competition, people's natural
self-interest would promote greater prosperity than with stringent government regulations.
9. Smith saw the responsibilities of the government as being limited to the defense of the nation,
universal education, public works (infrastructure such as roads and bridges), the enforcement of
legal rights (property rights and contracts), and the punishment of crime.
10. our individual need to fulfill self-interest results in societal benefit, in what is known as his
"invisible hand".