Use the excerpt to answer the question. “[The rich] consume little more than the poor, and in spite of their natural selfishness and rapacity . . . they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements. They are led by an invisible hand to make nearly the same distribution of the necessaries of life, which would have been made, had the earth been divided into equal portions among all its inhabitants, and thus without intending it, without knowing it, advance the interest of the society, and afford means to the multiplication of the species.” What economic system does the evidence support?

Question

Use the excerpt to answer the question. “[The rich] consume little more than the poor, and in spite of their natural selfishness and rapacity . . . they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements. They are led by an invisible hand to make nearly the same distribution of the necessaries of life, which would have been made, had the earth been divided into equal portions among all its inhabitants, and thus without intending it, without knowing it, advance the interest of the society, and afford means to the multiplication of the species.” What economic system does the evidence support? 
 Communism
mercantilism 
laissez-faire capitalism
utopian socialism

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The excerpt supports the idea of **laissez-faire capitalism**. It highlights how the actions of the rich, driven by their self-interest, inadvertently lead to a distribution of resources that benefits society as a whole. This aligns with the principles of laissez-faire capitalism, which emphasizes minimal government intervention and the idea that individual pursuits can unintentionally promote overall economic welfare.