invisible hand

Socializes costs, and privatizes profits!.

In such circumstances, is it any wonder our world is in such a mess?

When an entity gets large enough--say microsoft--it controls the market. And it controls the govenment.

So the invisible hand becomes "an invisible shovel".

Competition, which is the rallying cry of CEO's and conservatives, has long since disappeared into state capitalism.

And the only ones buried? Most of us!

In all of his writings, Smith only mentions the invisible hand three times. Its best-known formulation comes in Book IV, Chapter 2, of The Wealth of Nations:

[ Every individual generally ] neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it... He is in this case, as in many cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very uncommon among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.