David Brin, my favorite militant secularist, has some wise words on politics today on his blog. (Other than his usual little poke at the spiritual. But that is another discussion.) Among them are:

All you have to do is imagine what the “first liberal” would say, if he were here today. Adam Smith would look around at today’s increasingly warped markets, today’s rising wealth-disparities and “re-pyramidalization” of the social order, the rise in secrecy and secret influence, in kleptocratic handshake insider deals and so on… and he would recognize the old enemy, in the flesh.

He would denounce it.

Adam Smith knew the fundamental truth that we have forgotten (having grown up worried about communism)… a fundamental fact that the bigtime aristos of the Right do not want us to remember. That free markets have always had one paramount class of enemy, across 6,000 years. These enemies were not “levellers” or socialists. Rather, in 99% of cultures, free and fecund markets were ruined by “cronies of the king.” Precisely the same cheaters who Smith railed against in Wealth of Nations”.
There can be no question that today Adam Smith would be a democrat.

There is more good stuff there. Go take a look.