"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
— Adam Smith
It Is Not From The Benevolence
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
About this quote
This passage from The Wealth of Nations (1776), Book I, Chapter 2, is one of the most quoted sentences in all of economics. Smith uses it to illustrate the principle of the division of labor: trade arises not from altruism but from the natural human propensity to truck and barter. The insight overturned mercantilist assumptions about trade, establishing self-interest as a legitimate engine of social welfare.
Source
The Wealth of Nations, Book I, Chapter 2 (1776)
