Central planning was just not good at replacing what the great eighteenth-century economist Adam Smith called the “invisible hand” of the market. When the plan was formulated in tons of steel sheet, the sheet was made too heavy. When it was formulated in terms of area of steel sheet, the sheet was made too thin. When the plan for chandeliers was made in tons, they were so heavy, they could hardly hang from ceilings. .Anonymous
About This Quote
This is a quote from an article by George Soros, describing his experience with central planning in communist Hungary. As he noted, the planning was inefficient because it was not based on the free market. He quoted Adam Smith, saying that people are selfish and that the only solution to that selfishness is competition. Competition allows for people to be as selfish as they want to be, as long as they still compete with other people who are as selfish as they want to be. In this way, competition allows people to find their own best interests.
Source: Why Nations Fail: The Origins Of Power, Prosperity, And Poverty
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