“When Adam Smith said that there is a lot of ruin in a country, he was unfamiliar with socialist military dictatorships. In the old days, the 17th Century, say, government had to be careful not to impoverish the masses, lest it be kicked out, king and all. The amount of ruin in a country–what it takes to depose a failed tyrannical state–has risen substantially since socialist governments learned the techniques of spying, torture and mass murder.”

– John Hinderaker