Baloney - time you revisited Adam Smith. Maybe I will find a good quote for you. Before 1776 ed. of Wealth of Nations his Theory of Moral Sentiments of 1759 was the wellspring for his capitalism. Here is that ruling sentiment from Wealth of Nations [my abridgment]:
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Uninterested in your self-serving quotes which reinforce your prejudices, rather than inform.
(my apologies for the interruption).
Anatomically Modern Man, emigrated to the Middle East around 72,000 BC,
to China around 60,000 BC, to Europe around 32,000 BC and so on, across the world.
Then core agricultural development of grains, followed by the domestication of livestock, occurred around 8,000 BC. Next came the gradual development of the earliest Cities
and Towns encouraging Mankind to survive and thrive. And on and on and on.....
The timeline between the emergence of Middle East Man and the present is 74,000 years.
The French Enlightenment chaperoned Capitalism into Europe, around 1750 AD.
Therefore since Mankind's experience w/Capitalism is 250 years/74,000 years, equivalent
to .0034% of the time; obviously Mankind's greatest achievements occurred during
the balance of the time, some 73,750 years or 99.9966% of the time.
Anyone challenging this, take a glance at the Art produced by the Ancients.
My source: CASSELL'S CHRONOLOY OF WORLD HISTORY.