Wealth brings with it its own checks and balances. The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. . . . make equal laws: secure life and property, and you need not give charity. Open the doors of opportunity to talent and virtue, and they will do themselves justice, and property will not be in bad hands. In a free and just commonwealth, property rushes from the idle [lazy] and brainless, to the industrious, brave, and persevering.

Read the quotation by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Which of Adam Smith’s ideals are reflected in the quotation from Emerson?

Greater competition will benefit the consumer.

Private ownership is the basis for success.

Government should not play a role in the free market.

Only industrious people should have access to capital.