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fhn • yesterday at 9:52 PM • 3 replies • view on HN

Adam Smith wrote about the invisible hand and let the free market run. What ended up happening?


Replies

atmavatar • yesterday at 10:46 PM

It turns out the hand is invisible because most of the time, it's not really there.

fragmede • yesterday at 10:12 PM

He also wrote about the problem with monopolies, but that was later on in his book so we forgot to do that part so the market isn't properly free.

iamnothere • yesterday at 10:27 PM

He only used that metaphor a few times, and he did not attribute the sort of mystical power to the metaphor that modern neoliberal economists do. He never proposed the modern extreme interpretation of the concept, nor did he suggest that government should release all control over the economy.

Marx treated Smith rather favorably, and credits him for first understanding that labor in general is what creates value. Smith is best understood as an early pioneer in understanding political economy and trade. He likely wouldn’t recognize or understand the capitalism of today (nor would Marx).