Joseph Knippenberg offers an astute analysis of why President Obama’s “You didn’t build that” comment is problematic, even when understood in context. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith offers an account of the transtion from feudalism to freedom in terms of the changes in relationships of dependence.  Where the retainer and the serf are dependent upon the patronage of one lord, the craftsman and the merchant are dependent upon the patronage of numerous customers.  They are thus functionally independent, not because they are utterly self-reliant, but because no one can exercise the influence over them that one lord can … Continue reading “You Didnt’ Build That”: Why What President Obama Said Is Still Problematic, Even in Context