wrote:

Every individual…generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how

much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends

only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the

greatest value, he intends only his own gain. And he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an

invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention…By pursuing his own interest he

frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.

The metaphor of the invisible hand suggests the remarkable possibility that broader social good can emerge

from selfish individual actions.

Fourth, even people who focus on their own self-interest in the economic part of their life often set aside their
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