Milton Friedman: Adam Smith was a superhero of economic thought. He said people who intend to serve only their own private interests are led by an invisible hand to serve public interests that it was no part of their intention to promote. This seemingly magical phenomenon, Friedman said, was driven by what is called the price mechanism. The price mechanism signaled what producers wanted to produce and what buyers wanted to buy.
Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. Prepare for a very Smithy tug of war. (Part 2 of “In Search of the Real Adam Smith.”)