--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The interest of [businessmen] is always…" description: "\"The interest of [businessmen] is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public ... The proposal of any new law or re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/adam-smith-1040_adopted_the-interest-of-businessmen-is-always-in_2983313.jpg" --- # The interest of \[businessmen\] is always in some respects… ![“The interest of [businessmen] is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public ... The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order ... ought never to be adopted, till after having been long and carefully examined ... with the…” quote by Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/adam-smith-1040_adopted_the-interest-of-businessmen-is-always-in_2983313.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/adam-smith-1040_adopted_the-interest-of-businessmen-is-always-in_2983313.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/adam-smith-1040_adopted_the-interest-of-businessmen-is-always-in_2983313.jpg) > “The interest of \[businessmen\] is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public ... The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order ... ought never to be adopted, till after having been long and carefully examined ... with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men ... who have generally an interest to deceive and even oppress the public.” [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public policy should be scrutinized because business interests often conflict with the public good, requiring careful, skeptical review. **In simple terms:** Business motives can clash with public welfare, so laws need thorough, wary examination. Key Takeaway Examine proposals critically before adoption. Themes economics public policy conflict of interest regulation skepticism Mood cautious analytical Type advisory critical When to use this quote - drafting new commerce laws - reviewing regulatory proposals - assessing corporate lobbying - public hearings - policy analysis Key Concepts public interest corporate power legislative scrutiny Questions to Reflect On - How can we detect hidden corporate influence? - What safeguards ensure public interest prevails? A Different Perspective Business influence may be subtle and not always overtly oppressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adopted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adopted/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Businessman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessman/) [Businessmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessmen/) [Businessmen Respects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessmen-respects-4650189/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [Deceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceiving/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Generally Deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generally-deceive-4650192/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opposite Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite-public-4650191/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Proposal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proposal/) [Regulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regulation/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Suspicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicious/) [Suspicious Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicious-attention-4650190/) [Wealth of nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-of-nations/) ## Related quotes > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [The annual labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniencies of life which it annually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-annual-labour-of-every-nation-is-the-fund-which-originally/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/all-for-ourselves-and-nothing-for-other-people-seems-in-every-age-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Every tax ought to be so contrived as both to take out and to keep out of the pockets of the people as little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/every-tax-ought-to-be-so-contrived-as-both-to-take-out-and-to-keep/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Whenever the legislature attempts to regulate differences between masters and their workmen, its counsellors are always the masters. 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