… is from page 630 of Book IV, Chapter vii of the 1981 Liberty Fund edition of Adam Smith’s 1776 masterpiece, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations:
Monopoly of one kind or another, indeed, seems to be the sole engine of the mercantile system.
DBx: Yes, without doubt. To oppose free trade is to oppose competition and the economic growth that it brings to the masses. To support protectionism – to support mercantilism, or what Smith called “the mercantile system” – is to support monopoly and the unearned riches that it captures for the few.
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