Visibly Orchestrated

Adam Smith died 235 years ago, and his invisible hand still has us by the short hairs.

The 18th-Century Scottish philosopher and economist predicted the evolution of the feudalism of his day into a market-driven rather than guild-determined economic order, what later came to be known as laissez-faire capitalism, something Smith considered a system of perfect liberty. He famously described how the desires and inhibitions of human nature would operate as an invisible hand guiding these free markets, thereby bringing about an orderly society.

More philosophy than economics, more religion than science, Smith’s invisible hand still has an iron grip after all these years. A mythology has grown around it. Laissez-faire — “allow to do” in French, letting things take their course without interference — is the central myth of modern capitalism. In truth, there’s an abundance of interference. Look no further than American agriculture to see how markets are politically manipulated to serve an indus…