Smith held that states, unlike merchants, are not natural savers

Evidence

Smith’s problem with debt is that states, unlike merchants, are not by nature savers. Indeed, to his regret, “the parsimony which leads to accumulation has become almost as rare in republican (merchant-run) as monarchical governments.” As a consequence, merchants are indirectly saddled with “enormous debts which at present oppress, and will in the long-run probably ruin, all the great states of Europe.” — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 302

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Smith grounded capitalism in a natural human disposition to save rather than spend — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 298; Adam Smith held that people pursue wealth for social regard, not necessity. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core: On the Role of…, 437

Broader Connections

• Adam Smith held that people pursue wealth for social regard, not necessity. #complicates (0.75) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 437