Adam Smith: The man of the system

Here is one of many famous excerpts of Adam Smith's two classic works An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) and The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759):

"The man of system [e.g. elected lifelong career politicians], on the contrary, is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. He goes on to establish it completely and in all its parts, without any regard either to the great interests, or to the strong prejudices which may oppose it. He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard."

Adam Smith contrasted the man of the system with spontaneous order and self interest/love!

Here is another take on this famous quote: Adam Smith on social change and “the man of system” (1759)