I think "Moral Sentiments" may be better than "Wealth".
Of course, Smith was strongly influenced by the Physiocrats, whose "Impot Unique" was a century earlier than Henry George's Single Tax. They erred in stressing agriculture and downplaying more advanced production - but that doesn't matter. They had the idea.
I did have an edge in the Toyota lease. You'll be amused that Bob - my friend - kept the speaker 'phone on while he talked to the wholesaler. At one point the wholesaler suggested that Bob turn off the speaker 'phone. Bob said 'my customers can hear anything we are saying' and left the speaker on.
Bob is a good guy, anyway. I'm sure he does similar things for any of his clients. He charges a straight $85 to search for the car you want (model, style, color, and so on). Then he adds 6% to the best price he can get. This is his routine I think for all his customers, which why he has been in business for very many years.
I suspect countervailing power is a lot more prevalent than we might think.
Harry
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Arthur wrote:
Harry It looks like you did OK on your Toyota lease deal NOT because there was competition but because you had the inside track with your own bit of special information and market power in the form of a friendly dealer who passed on his benefits to you. You make the case for countervailing power. And a good case it is.If memory serves: Adam Smith got some of his ideas from Mandeville's "Fable of the Bees". Why is it that each bee flying around and apparently tending to its own selfish interest leads to the common good? Are there lessons for England in the 1700's? And the result is the Wealth of Nations (not to forget a Moral Sentiments). arthur
****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 ******************************* _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
