"No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable."
"The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. They find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in getting it. The luxuries and 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."
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Source: Adam Smith (2007). “The Wealth of Nations: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, p.494, Harriman House Limited
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