Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interests in his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man [...].
According to the system of natural liberty, the sovereign has only three duties to attend to [...]: first, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasions of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it [...]; thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works [...] and certain public institutions. Adam Smith, The Wealth of nations 1776
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