Oops

[libertango]

TPMCafe is quoting Mitt Romney as saying:

"Look at how the Democrats like Hillary Clinton think about our economy. She said the other day some very interesting things. You probably saw them. She said that it is quote "time to reject the idea of an on-your-own society and replace it with shared responsibility." She says she prefers a quote "we're all-in-it-together society." I see -- out with Adam Smith, in with Karl Marx."

Here's the problem: As readers of the Critiques of Libertarianism quotes page that willshetterly pointed to a while back know, Smith said this (in The Wealth of Nations, no less):

"All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind."

So, a gentle hint to Mr. Romney: I know it's not fashionable for Republicans to be, you know, conservatives these days. But you might escape embarrassment if you read your source materials from time to time.

Comments

[urlgirl.livejournal.com]

I really kind of wish that people would stop paraphrasing so-called luminaries on issues to which they never spoke (seeing as they wrote down their opinions more than a century ago) and Actually State Their Own Positions. Neither Smith nor Marx do me an iota of good, today. If I knew how Romney felt about something (what's wrong with "shared responsibility?" what's wrong with "on your own?" what do you mean by that?), that may actually be useful.

There's way too much reference and reverence to the "greats" on all sides, but IMHO especially among conservatives and libertarians.