We join our friends at Liberty Matters in celebrating the 250th anniversary of the publication of Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations through a six-part weekly essay series.
In this fifth essay, Jacob T. Levy examines one of Smith’s most famous claims in Volume 5 of The Wealth of Nations. From the article:
Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, No. 5 In Vol. Any government that tries to force things into a different path or that tries to stop social progress at a certain point is unnatural, and any government that tries to support itself is forced to become oppressive and tyrannical.
This passage is a popular one among some people, and it’s not just because of its appeal to lower taxes (though it’s certainly true in part). That seems to give me a sense of security about politics. “The natural course of things” would mean that politics tends to work out reasonably well. Governing well is not difficult. In most cases, they do nothing, such as not going to war or increasing taxes. For modern economists who consider themselves the true intellectual inheritors of WN, the implication that political science is less difficult may be an added bonus.
