--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Conservatives may worship Adam Smith's…" description: "\"Conservatives may worship Adam Smith's 'invisible hand,' but for Obama, the helping hand comes in large measure from the public, not the private sector..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/jeff-greenfield-12787_adam_conservatives-may-worship-adam-smith-s-i_2697734.jpg" --- # Conservatives may worship Adam Smith's 'invisible hand,'… ![“Conservatives may worship Adam Smith's 'invisible hand,' but for Obama, the helping hand comes in large measure from the public, not the private sector. To call this 'socialism' is to do violence to the word and to the concept. To call it 'un-American' is a smear.” quote by Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/jeff-greenfield-12787_adam_conservatives-may-worship-adam-smith-s-i_2697734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/jeff-greenfield-12787_adam_conservatives-may-worship-adam-smith-s-i_2697734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/jeff-greenfield-12787_adam_conservatives-may-worship-adam-smith-s-i_2697734.jpg) > “Conservatives may worship Adam Smith's 'invisible hand,' but for Obama, the helping hand comes in large measure from the public, not the private sector. To call this 'socialism' is to do violence to the word and to the concept. To call it 'un-American' is a smear.” [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that labeling public assistance as socialism misrepresents its purpose and unfairly attacks its supporters. **In simple terms:** Calling public aid socialism is a mischaracterization. Key Takeaway Recognize nuance in policy debates. Themes politics public policy ideology Mood critical analytical Type political commentary When to use this quote - election campaigns - policy analysis - public debates - media commentary Key Concepts social welfare government role political rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling affect public perception? - What alternatives exist to the term socialism? A Different Perspective Oversimplification can ignore complex economic realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatives/) [Helping hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-hand/) [Private sector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-sector/) [Socialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialism/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [If Obama's vision of the public sector is socialism, then so too were the visions of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/if-obama-s-vision-of-the-public-sector-is-socialism-then-so-too-were/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [One of the ideas that I wanted to highlight, which is actually a very bipartisan idea - it's not just about conservatives - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/one-of-the-ideas-that-i-wanted-to-highlight-which-is-actually-a-very/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Conservatives are those who worship dead radicals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rehnquist/conservatives-are-those-who-worship-dead-radicals/) [William Rehnquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rehnquist/) > [Adam Smith's huge failure was the fact that he did not foresee the industrial revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/adam-smith-s-huge-failure-was-the-fact-that-he-did-not-foresee-the/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Laissez Faire, laissez passer. Let it be, let it pass. The phrase is not readily translatable. It was widely used by the Physiocrats in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-quesnay/laissez-faire-laissez-passer-let-it-be-let-it-pass-the-phrase-is-not/) [Francois Quesnay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-quesnay/) > [“They failed to appreciate how the network would funnel the energies of the people into a centrally administered, tightly monitored information system organized to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/they-failed-to-appreciate-how-the-network-would-funnel-the-energies/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In America, too, the reality behind the words of the Declaration of Independence (issued in the same year as Adam Smith’s capitalist manifesto, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/in-america-too-the-reality-behind-the-words-of-the-declaration-of/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“The American Works Progress (later Projects) Administration, founded in 1935 to provide jobs for “employable workers” during the Great Depression, established the Mathematical Tables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lynch/the-american-works-progress-later-projects-administration-founded-in/) [Jack Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lynch/) > [Modern sociology is virtually an attempt to take up the larger program of social analysis and interpretation which was implicit in Adam Smith's moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/modern-sociology-is-virtually-an-attempt-to-take-up-the-larger/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On the conservative side, today's libertarianism is far more dogmatic and devoid of qualification than the liberalism of Adam Smith or J.S. Mill. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lind/on-the-conservative-side-today-s-libertarianism-is-far-more-dogmatic/) [Michael Lind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lind/) > [Ask me not, 'Are you rightwing,' but ask me 'Are you a committed believer in individual freedom, the values of the enlightenment?' Then, yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/ask-me-not-are-you-rightwing-but-ask-me-are-you-a-committed-believer/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“It was in the eighteenth century that England became what (Adam) Smith called "a nation of shopkeepers"… (p. 58)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-z-muller/it-was-in-the-eighteenth-century-that-england-became-what-adam-smith/) [Jerry Z. Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-z-muller/) > [“Instead, contracts were awarded to American consultancies like Bearing Point, or Adam Smith from the UK, to bring in their own people to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lamb/instead-contracts-were-awarded-to-american-consultancies-like-bearing/) Christina Lamb > [“Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations was in large part a critique of imperialism. We often associate opposition to imperialism with Marxism and the Left,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-brennan/adam-smith-s-wealth-of-nations-was-in-large-part-a-critique-of/) [Jason Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-brennan/) > [“A man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him. They must even upon most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-watson/a-man-must-always-live-by-his-work-and-his-wages-must-at-least-be/) [Bruce Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-watson/) ## More by Jeff Greenfield > [In politics, Bugs Bunny always beats Daffy Duck. Daffy's always going berserk, jumping up and down, yelling. Bugs's got that sly smile, like he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-politics-bugs-bunny-always-beats-daffy-duck-daffy-s-always-going/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [There is something discordant about a team of speechwriters and political operatives hammering away to create an image of the 'real, inner' candidate. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/there-is-something-discordant-about-a-team-of-speechwriters-and/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [Describing the jury in the OJ Simpson murder trial: These people have served a longer sentence than some people who have committed murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/describing-the-jury-in-the-oj-simpson-murder-trial-these-people-have/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [History doesn't turn on a dime; it turns on a plugged nickel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/history-doesn-t-turn-on-a-dime-it-turns-on-a-plugged-nickel/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [In every debate, whatever the format, whatever the questions, there is one and only one way to identify the winner: Who commands the room?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-every-debate-whatever-the-format-whatever-the-questions-there-is/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [Television is one of the most fickle businesses that there are, you are in favour one minute and out the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/television-is-one-of-the-most-fickle-businesses-that-there-are-you/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [As a general proposition, campaigns do not linger on the vice presidential nominee. When they have, it's always meant very bad news for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/as-a-general-proposition-campaigns-do-not-linger-on-the-vice/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [More things in politics happen by accident or exhaustion than happen by conspiracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/more-things-in-politics-happen-by-accident-or-exhaustion-than-happen/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [In the many-mansioned house of Alternate History, I occupy a small corner. The trio of what-ifs I chronicled in 'Then Everything Changed' all begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-the-many-mansioned-house-of-alternate-history-i-occupy-a-small/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [“It was more than just material prosperity. America in 1960 was a country where restraint and boundaries were the natural conditions in all arenas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/it-was-more-than-just-material-prosperity-america-in-1960-was-a/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [Well, politics is war, and in war, truth is the first casualty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/well-politics-is-war-and-in-war-truth-is-the-first-casualty/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [When Ronald Reagan chose George H.W. Bush in 1980, it was a clear signal that he was running an inclusive campaign; that he welcomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/when-ronald-reagan-chose-george-h-w-bush-in-1980-it-was-a-clear/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [When George W. Bush picked Dick Cheney, it was a reassuring sign that the Texas governor would have an experienced, prudent voice at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/when-george-w-bush-picked-dick-cheney-it-was-a-reassuring-sign-that/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [In the post-Watergate atmosphere of 1975 and 1976, the just-plain-folks personalities of both Ford and Carter seemed the perfect antidote to Nixon's arrogant, isolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-the-post-watergate-atmosphere-of-1975-and-1976-the-just-plain/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [The Supreme Being I would sign up for would not prove his omnipotence by saving one life while ending dozens, or hundreds, or thousands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/the-supreme-being-i-would-sign-up-for-would-not-prove-his-omnipotence/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) [Explore all 53 Jeff Greenfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) ## More Adam quotes > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Adam could imagine what he looked like: a debauched nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/adam-could-imagine-what-he-looked-like-a-debauched-nerd/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [Adam Berenson knows how to compose, organize an ensemble, do musical research, play solo and trio piano, write for musical journals, and enlist others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/adam-berenson-knows-how-to-compose-organize-an-ensemble-do-musical/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [“Finally, someone had seen him. And what had he done? Let her get away. Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“think Adam is looking to break Kenji’s neck at this point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/think-adam-is-looking-to-break-kenji-s-neck-at-this-point/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Adam's lips are set in a grime line. I can't tell if he's about to cry or about to punch the guard. For his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-s-lips-are-set-in-a-grime-line-i-can-t-tell-if-he-s-about-to-cry/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Barışı elde etmek için çabalayan her adam olağanüstü bir adamdır!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bar-elde-etmek-i-in-abalayan-her-adam-ola-an-st-bir-adamd-r/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) Browse all 1,360 Adam quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Conservatives may worship Adam Smith's 'invisible hand,' but for Obama, the helping hand comes in large measure from the public, not the private sector. 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