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I've never read Smith's work. Is this quote out of context?
"The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor... The luxuries and the vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess...It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion" - Adam Smith, the Wealth of Nations.
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