
— Adam Smith 1723 - 1790
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.
An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations: With a Life of the Author. Also, a View of the Doctrine of Smith Compared with that of the French Economists; with a Method of Facilitating the Study of His Works, Volume 1, Página 20 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xTpFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20, Adam Smith - Creech, 1806.
Uma Investigação Sobre a Natureza e a Causa da Riqueza das Nações