mand "xuất hiện 269 lần trong khi" cung cấp "xuất hiện chỉ có 144 lần. Keynes sẽ được hài lòng. Smith là bổ nhiệm Hải quan chính thức và Burns Quần áo của ông Sau khi xuất bản cuốn sách kinh điển của mình, Smith được bổ nhiệm làm ủy viên hải quan ở Edinburgh, như đã nói trước đó. | 16 THE BIG THREE IN ECONOMICS mand appears 269 times while supply appears only 144 times. Keynes would be pleased. Smith Is Appointed Customs Official and Burns His Clothes Following the publication of his classic book Smith was appointed customs commissioner in Edinburgh as noted earlier. He also spent time revising his published books lived a modest life despite his pension and over the years gave away most of his income in private acts of charity which he took care to conceal Rae 1895 437 . He lived in Edinburgh for the remainder of his life. His position as a customs agent is full of irony. In The Wealth of Nations Smith argued in favor of free trade. He endorsed the elimination of most tariffs and even wrote in sympathy of smuggling. Two years later in 1778 Smith actively sought a high-level government appointment possibly to enhance his financial condition. Smith succeeded in his quest and was named Commissioner of Customs in Scotland despite his previous writings on free trade and the words of his friend Dr. Samuel Johnson who said that one of the lowest of all human beings is a Commissioner of Excise in Viner 1965 64 . The job was a prestigious position that paid a handsome 600 a year. In a strange paradox the champion of free trade and laissez-faire spent the last twelve years of his life enforcing Scotland s mercantilist import laws and cracking down on smugglers. Once in office Smith acquainted himself with all the rules and regulations of customs law and suddenly discovered that for some time he had personally violated it Most of the clothes he was wearing had been illegally smuggled into the country. Writing to Lord Auckland he exclaimed I found to my great astonishment that I had scarce a stock neck cloth a cravat a pair of ruffles or a pocket handkerchief which was not prohibited to be worn or used in Great Britain. I wished to set an example and burnt them all. 6 He urged Lord Auckland and his wife to examine their clothing and do the same. 6. .
