Actually he's fondest of landlords (because their class interest coincides with the general interest, and therefore they can be trusted to best manage society) and modern capitalist farmers -- i.e., the gentry -- because there is no capital so productive as agricultural capital.
At least that's the story in WON. But you might be able to make a good case for his preference for the petty bourgeoisie if you based yourself on his other big book, _The Theory of Moral Sentiments_.
Michael
On Sun, 11 Oct 1998 michael at ecst.csuchico.edu wrote:
> My reading of Smith differs from the rest of you. The only consistent
> element of Smith's work is his desire to have everybody conform to the way of life that he
> prefers: the self-made artisan. His is disdainful of workers. High wages are useful only in
> that they help to tame the
> masses. He contemptuous of successful business people, small farmers,
> workers and just
> about everybody except the type of petty bourgeoise of which he approves.
>
> You can find quotations that sound harsher about capitalists than what you
> read in Marx, but
> Smith did not have love for the workers.
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA 95929
>
> Tel. 530-898-5321
> E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
>
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com