Andrew Sullivan (grudgingly), draws our attention to this quote by Adam Smith:
The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. . . . The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. . . . It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.
Though, as The New Yorker (where Sullivan got the quote) goes on to say:
Smith’s notion of reasonableness did not anticipate the Fox News Channel, however. Last Tuesday, Wurzelbacher appeared on that network, where he denounced Obama’s comments as “socialist.” He said that Obama “scared me,” because he “wants to distribute wealth.” Wurzelbacher also granted an interview to the advocacy group Family Security Matters, whose advisory board includes the conservative talk-radio hosts Laura Ingraham and Monica Crowley. By means unknown, Joe’s story of ambition and resentment reached the campaign of Senator John McCain.
The point here, of course, is that modern Repubicans, despite their abject slavering worship of the free market, don't actually understand what is and what isn't consistent with capitalism. Smith understood broadly the ways in which capitalism did (and often didn't) comport with social justice. And with Obama, he seems to support the idea of "spreading the wealth."
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