3. “This division of labor, from which so many advantages are derived, is not originally the effect of any human wisdom…it is the necessary consequence of a certain propensity in human nature…to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another.”
Adam Smith (pg.21) -
In this quote, Adam Smith introduces the idea that although the specialization of skills in division of labor leads to efficiency when it comes to production, this is bad for the people because they lose other skills. People are so focused on their specialty that their other skills are not improved upon and start to deteriorate so they become good for one thing, their specialty. However, Smith writes that productivity increases if people are not involved …show more content…
This quote is taken out of the part of text when the topic of what princes are blamed or praised for is discussed. It states that a man who solely looks at what should be done, most often in an ethical mindset, without the context of what the state of situation is, would not prosper as a leader and the respect the people have for him would diminish, leading to his ultimate demise. He is stating that one cannot act morally at all times if that is not what’s best at the time because those people who are not moral would act up and possibly overthrow the leadership. Machiavelli believes that leaders, in order to be strong and maintain power must serve themselves and not the people, and therefore uses this statement to illustrate that those in power must primarily accomplish what is best for themselves, and not the people in order to be “virtuous” leaders and have the respect of subjects and ultimately, …show more content…
It illustrates his belief that a free market alone is bad for society and the economy as a whole. His belief is that the market needs government intervention and regulation to work properly. The invisible hand, laissez faire economics, is a poor way of running an economy. The way the market naturally functions, Polanyi believes, cannot be what decides an individual 's socioeconomic status, and intervention by the government must be in place for an economy to be fair and successful and not demise and decide the fate of the people. Through the text it is evident that Polanyi believes that unbound market forces are a threat to the well being of people, nature, and the economy and therefore must be regulated in some way by the