Lies About the Wealth of Nations
A democratic socialist tanka poem and discussion of which Adam Smith would be proud
honor among thieves
Robin Hood and Merry Men
heroes that we need
most party pols serve themselves
must tax rich house feed treat needs
Robber barons of now or yore have no honor. They steal from or exploit those less fortunate and rape the planet. We label them capitalists but greedy profiteers, pirates if I may, describe them better. They exclaim the virtue of free markets and comparative advantage, a fiction written by lobbyists for the rich who fear the uprising their greed will cause.
Adam Smith never intended his economic philosophy for a global economy chasing cheap labor. He thought the profit motive driving innovation would give way to rising wages once the risk-takers achieved a reasonable return.
The 1%s have perverted capitalism, and worse they have removed context from Adam Smith’s “invisible hand.” Smith’s Wealth of Nations posited that free markets would lead to wealth fairly distributed among the citizens based on their contribution — a wealthy nation, not a wealthy few in a nation.
