In the United States, Adam Smith has long been deployed as a crown witness for all those worried about too heavy a government hand in the economy. The Globalist presents very surprising views on issues such as taxes and the role of government from the "father of capitalism" himself — Adam Smith.

1. What is the main purpose of government?

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

2. In your view, what other functions should government serve?

"First, the duty of protecting the society from violence. Secondly, the duty of protecting every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it.)

3. And what else?

"The duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain.)

4. Why does it fall to government to carry out such tasks?

"The tolls for the maintenance of a high road cannot with any safety be made the property of private persons.)

5. What benefits does infrastructure have for the economy?

"Good roads, canals and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expense of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with those of the neighborhood of the town. They are upon that the greatest of all improvements.)

6. What's your view on taxes?

"Every tax is to the person who pays it a badge, not of slavery - but of liberty.)

7. Should the wealthy pay a large share of society's taxes?

"It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense - not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.)

8. Why is unemployment so devastating?

"A man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him.)

9. What is the key to becoming rich?

"Money, says the proverb, makes money. When you have a little, it is often easier to get more. The great difficulty is to get that little.)

10. And finally, in what way is history coming full circle?

"China is a much richer country than any part of Europe.)

Editor's note: The quotes in this feature are drawn from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776.