Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.

Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.

Adam Smith · An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog.

Adam Smith · An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

The great affair, we always find, is to get money.

Adam Smith · An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

But though empires, like all the other works of men, have all hitherto proved mortal, yet every empire aims at immortality.

Adam Smith · An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

Goods can serve many other purposes besides purchasing money, but money can serve no other purpose besides purchasing goods.

Adam Smith · An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations