Comment & Debate
Adam Smith ([1776] 1994: 485–86), patron saint of economists – “It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy.” Smith also noted that the logic of outsourcing applied to
nations as well as householders. He continued: “What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.”[1]