According to Rachel Sylvester in The Times (£) today, George Osborne’s love of soaking the rich — from the non-dom levy to the tycoon tax – stems from the importance he puts on the ‘empathy’ described in Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments. If so, he’d better start re-reading his Adam Smith.
Certainly, the Chancellor is familiar with Smith’s other great book, The Wealth of Nations (1776). He wrote an introduction to a recent edition of it. That book is a passionate call for free trade and for open and competitive markets, and a stinging critique of the mutual back-scratching between businesspeople and politicians — what today we would call crony capitalism.
Smith railed against restraints of trade, regulations, the special privileges and subsidies that businesspeople wheedled out of government, lavish public spending schemes and the high taxes required to pay for them.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in