--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was not for nothing that Adam Smith…" description: "\"“It was not for nothing that Adam Smith wrote that “people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/kevin-d-williamson-22899_big-business_it-was-not-for-nothing-that-adam-smith-w_2032409.jpg" --- # It was not for nothing that Adam Smith wrote that “people… ![“It was not for nothing that Adam Smith wrote that “people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” The romantic notion of politics holds that Big Business is…” quote by Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/kevin-d-williamson-22899_big-business_it-was-not-for-nothing-that-adam-smith-w_2032409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/kevin-d-williamson-22899_big-business_it-was-not-for-nothing-that-adam-smith-w_2032409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/kevin-d-williamson-22899_big-business_it-was-not-for-nothing-that-adam-smith-w_2032409.jpg) > ““It was not for nothing that Adam Smith wrote that “people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” The romantic notion of politics holds that Big Business is synonymous with capitalism and the archenemy of socialism. In fact, Big Business is reliably against most of what must go into any modern definition of capitalism: free trade, free enterprise, free markets, and the impartial rule of law. Big Business reliably seeks to use the state to seek advantages in trade and to crush smaller (and often more innovative) competitors.”” [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Big Business manipulates state power to gain advantage, contradicting free‑market principles and undermining true capitalism. **In simple terms:** Big Business uses government to dominate, harming free markets. Key Takeaway Limit corporate influence on policy. Themes economics politics corporate power capitalism Mood critical analytical skeptical Type opinion expository political When to use this quote - policy debates - antitrust discussions - business strategy - public advocacy Key Concepts regulation state capture market distortion Questions to Reflect On - How can genuine competition be protected? - What reforms reduce corporate capture? A Different Perspective Free‑market advocates may underestimate the complexity of corporate‑state relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-business/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Free enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-enterprise/) [Free trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-trade/) [Rule of law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-of-law/) ## Related quotes > [Capitalism and the market are presented as synonymous, but they are not. 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A free market system allows all parties to compete, which ensures the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-am-a-conservative-republican-a-firm-believer-in-free-market/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [“There are members of our body politic who tell us that the public interest is best served when government action is reduced to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-meiklejohn/there-are-members-of-our-body-politic-who-tell-us-that-the-public/) [Alexander Meiklejohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-meiklejohn/) > [A triumphalist corporate capitalism, free at last of the specter of Communism, has mobilized its economic power to relentlessly marginalize all nonmarket values; to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/a-triumphalist-corporate-capitalism-free-at-last-of-the-specter-of/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Capitalism is not about the profit motive. Capitalism is about free markets. What you do in the market, in your free will, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/capitalism-is-not-about-the-profit-motive-capitalism-is-about-free/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) ## More by Kevin D. Williamson > [I like to multitask. I love the process of the storytelling in television. I love the serial. Even my stab at doing a procedural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/i-like-to-multitask-i-love-the-process-of-the-storytelling-in/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [Even as a child, I just leaned towards the scary. I remember seeing Halloween, for the first time. I snuck into the theater and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/even-as-a-child-i-just-leaned-towards-the-scary-i-remember-seeing/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [If you're not willing to have somebody hauled off at gunpoint over the project, then it's probably not a legitimate concern of the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/if-you-re-not-willing-to-have-somebody-hauled-off-at-gunpoint-over/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [“It is baffling that my progressive friends lament the influence of so-called big money on government while at the same time proposing to expand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/it-is-baffling-that-my-progressive-friends-lament-the-influence-of-so/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [A lot of it is just waking up and putting one foot in front of the other and going where I just go, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/a-lot-of-it-is-just-waking-up-and-putting-one-foot-in-front-of-the/) [Kevin D. 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It's the only thing that excites me, the way that you get excited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/the-thing-that-makes-me-feel-young-honestly-is-making-television-it-s/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [“It would be difficult to find in the United States any profession so dedicated to socialism as that of educators, and difficult to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/it-would-be-difficult-to-find-in-the-united-states-any-profession-so/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [“the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that American families pay 26 percent more for milk than they would pay if they paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/the-organization-for-economic-cooperation-and-development-estimates/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [“Detroit is an extreme example of the fact that public-sector employment has become in effect a supplementary welfare state, with salaries and benefits –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/detroit-is-an-extreme-example-of-the-fact-that-public-sector/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [“The proximate cause of Detroit’s bankruptcy is its inability to make good on debts owed to the funds paying out pensions and health care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/the-proximate-cause-of-detroit-s-bankruptcy-is-its-inability-to-make/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [Horror films had died a little bit before Scream came around. That was one of the reasons I wrote it. I wanted to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/horror-films-had-died-a-little-bit-before-scream-came-around-that-was/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [Detroit's political leadership is a parasite that has outgrown its host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/detroit-s-political-leadership-is-a-parasite-that-has-outgrown-its/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) > [I'm a huge fan of horror. I can't handle all the blood and gore, but that's what The Following was meant to be. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-horror-i-can-t-handle-all-the-blood-and-gore-but/) [Kevin D. Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) [Explore all 26 Kevin D. Williamson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-williamson/) ## More Big business quotes > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [The typical American citizen is the business man. The typical business man is a bad citizen; he is busy. If he is a 'big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/the-typical-american-citizen-is-the-business-man-the-typical-business/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [The American influence is not so aggressive anymore. The American big business influence in Latin America is not as strong, so people can vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-gavras/the-american-influence-is-not-so-aggressive-anymore-the-american-big/) [Costa-Gavras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-gavras/) > [Prosperity may be found in small as in big business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-l-peretz/prosperity-may-be-found-in-small-as-in-big-business/) [I. L. Peretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-l-peretz/) > [Big Business and State Socialism are very much alike, especially Big Business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/big-business-and-state-socialism-are-very-much-alike-especially-big/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sports has become such a big business that the line between journalism and being a broadcast partner for all intents and purposes has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-zirin/sports-has-become-such-a-big-business-that-the-line-between/) [Dave Zirin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-zirin/) > [The simple opposition between the people and big business has disappeared because the people themselves have become so deeply involved in big business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/the-simple-opposition-between-the-people-and-big-business-has/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [A big business man was telling Henry Ford about a coach driver of super-expertness with his whip. The driver was telling how he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/a-big-business-man-was-telling-henry-ford-about-a-coach-driver-of/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Socialism is a society where the resources are used democratically to provide a better life for all, based on ending the dictatorship of big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kshama-sawant/socialism-is-a-society-where-the-resources-are-used-democratically-to/) [Kshama Sawant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kshama-sawant/) > [Maybe we should be directing our anger elsewhere - like toward Wall Street. Why is it we never think of Big Business when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/maybe-we-should-be-directing-our-anger-elsewhere-like-toward-wall/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [As long as there are big corporations, there will be big unions. The economic power of big business will be matched by the economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/as-long-as-there-are-big-corporations-there-will-be-big-unions-the/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [I have found, whether you have a tiny business or a big business, if you don't jump on something right away, it's like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/i-have-found-whether-you-have-a-tiny-business-or-a-big-business-if/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [Sickness is BIG Business,and we are left in the Middle of the Sea with NO Life Preserver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joeybaggs/sickness-is-big-business-and-we-are-left-in-the-middle-of-the-sea/) Joeybaggs > [No government is here forever. And there are other forces - the most potent force in our society, in fact, big business - doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/no-government-is-here-forever-and-there-are-other-forces-the-most/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [If you're going to be thinking anyway, think big!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-re-going-to-be-thinking-anyway-think-big/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) [Browse all 356 Big business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was not for nothing that Adam Smith wrote that “people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” The romantic notion of politics holds that Big Business is synonymous with capitalism and the archenemy of socialism. 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