… is from page 31 of Jagdish Bhagwati’s 2002 book, Free Trade Today:
[T]he invisible hand may be frail, but the visible hand is crippled.
DBx: Important point, but I qualify it:
However imperfect is the invisible hand of the market – and imperfect it most certainly is at allocating resources in ways that contribute to human betterment – the visible hand of the state is the alternative. And the visible hand is certainly much further from perfection at carrying out this vital task than is the invisible hand. But in one important respect the visible hand is not crippled; far from it. The visible hand too easily and eagerly transforms itself into a visible fist, one that’s very effective at smashing those who dare to challenge it. Such an awful transformation is never achieved by the invisible hand.
