Don't Reject Adam Smith

Too often, progressives make the mistake of rejecting the work of Adam Smith out of hand. This is a mistake. The problem is with both the Neocons and the libertarians in that they don't understand the assumptions underlying Smith's work. Smith envisioned a system of perfect competition. i.e. so many buyers and sellers of a good or service that not one had the ability to influence the market price. As a result, both capital and labor would be paid according to their contribution to the process. The problem arises from the fact that the real world is made up of less than perfect markets. In a less than perfect world, monopoly selling power allows for higher prices and monopsony buying power allows for below market wages.This combination allows the rich to get richer and the keeps the poor down.
In the words of Mel Brooks "It's fun to be King!!"