The ghost of Adam Smith
Give me your money.
What?
Give me your money.
Who are you?
Adam Smith.
Adam Smith?
Well, I’m actually the ghost of Adam Smith.
That doesn’t make any sense. No one can talk to a ghost. Ghosts aren’t real.
Well, we’re talking, right? So what’s the problem?
I don’t believe in ghosts.
Too bad.
Can anyone else see you?
Not right now.
But everyone knows who you are. Or who you were.
They do. Everyone knows me. Everyone loves me. I’m famous. I wrote the book that changed the world. So give me your money.
How much?
All of it.
You want me to give you all my money, and you’re not even real?
Exactly.
Okay. Let’s say I decide to give you my money. How do i do it?
It’s easy. You sign this piece of paper and you’re done.
I’m done? What does that mean?
It means I will be controlling your profits if you are in business, your income if you work for someone else, your investments, your spending, your safety, security, health, and even your happiness.
That’s a lot. What do I have to do?
Nothing.
What do you mean nothing? I don’t understand how you are going to get my money and do all those things with it, given that you are a ghost.
It’s simple. You don’t even have to think about it. Every day and every night an invisible hand will simply take some of your money and give it to someone else.
Who?
Don’t worry about it. Trust me.
Trust you? I don’t even believe in you.
That’s okay. You can see all the great things that are done in my name.
Like what?
All the supply and demand stuff. All the free-market stuff. It’s everywhere. It’s in the news every day. Everyone loves it. Everyone loves me. So are you ready to sign up?
I don’t know.
What’s not to know?
I’m thinking.
What’s to think about?
What’s real and what’s not.
You still think I’m not real?
I’m not sure.
Well, it’s not really about me anyway. It’s about the book. My book. Everything is in the book.
I haven’t read it.
Okay, then. You read it. Then we’ll talk again. It will be good. Trust me.
I finished your book. It’s pretty long. Even the title is long.
An Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations? I suppose it is, compared to today’s titles. But there was a lot to do. So are you ready to sign up?
Not yet. I have some questions.
Like what?
The first is, why is it about the wealth of nations, and not about the wealth of people?
It’s sort of the same.
No it’s not. You even say it is a plan to make nations based on manufacturing, not agriculture, wealthy, while most of the workers, or people, will continue to live in abject poverty.
Most people skip over that part.
I did like the Pin Factory example, but then you started making up a lot of stuff about supply and demand, markets, and equilibrium market prices. You know none of that is real.
Most people don't care.
So you want me to trust all my money to some knowingly false fictional ideas?
Everyone else does. That's why I am so famous.
