Here’s a quote from a recent “WSJ article”:1 that quotes from Adam Smith’s “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”:
bq.. Adam Smith in his “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759) saw the subtle truth that consumption by the rich has little effect on the welfare of the poor. That’s because the income of the rich is largely invested in the tools and knowledge of production, which provide future long-term value for everyone: “The rich only select from the heap what is most precious and agreeable . . . though they mean only their own conveniency . . . [and] . . . the gratification of their own vain and insatiable desires, they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements.”
p.. The quote from “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” is located on page 264.
No books were damaged to make this image.
Text of the full quote is:
bq.. The rich only select from the heap what is most precious and agreeable. They consume little more than the poor; and in spite of their natural selfishness and rapacity, though they mean only their own conveniency, though the sole end which they propose from the labours of all the thousands whom they employ be the gratification of their own vain and insatiable desires, they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements.
p.. Which is… shall we say… more nuanced when read in full.
Here’s a link to “page 264″:2 found using “Google Book Search”:3.
[1(WSJ Article - The Clinton Housing Bubble)]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119794091743935595.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
[2(Location of quote using Google Book Search)]http://books.google.com/books?id=FbYCAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Theory+of+Moral+Sentiments&ei=M2J1R720NIv8sQPetLmeBw#PPA264,M1
[3(Google Book Search Home PageL)]http://books.google.com/
