Summary Of John Smith Poverty

Smith relates the poverty of many to the wealth of a few by stating one who is very rich must, in return, result in five hundred who are poor (Smith, 96). A system of subordination sets in place to assure that the few stay wealthy and many remain poor. The rich, in particular, are interested in the order of things that can secure them in the possession of their own advantages (Smith, 99). Going along with Smith’s interpretation of the need for a civil government, the poor naturally combine to defend the rich in the possession of their property, in hopes that the rich will defend them in the possession of their own property (Smith, 99). This system allows for a sustained unequal ratio of wealthy to poor individuals.
The four “natural” sources of the subordination of some people to others, according to …show more content…
If there is no property, or no property that exceeds “the value of two or three days’ labour,” then civil government is not needed (Smith, 96). He states that the shepherds age of society is when civil government began to take root. Smith mentions that it was necessary for its own preservation and the civil government worked naturally despite the necessity (Smith, 98). The poor would combine to defend the equities of the wealthy, in order that the wealthy would come to defend the poor in their own property. The shepherds felt that the security of their herds and flocks depended on the security of the great shepherd or herdsman. According to Smith, “The maintenance of their lesser authority depends upon that of his greater authority; and that upon their subordination depends upon his power of keeping their inferiors in subordination to them” (Smith, 99). The purpose of the civil government is to sustain the security of property, and in return, also to protect the wealthy against the poor, who may wish to rise up and take their property (Smith,