Full Idea
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love.
Gist of Idea
People prepare our dinner from their own self-interest, not from humanity
Source
Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations [1776], p.26-7), quoted by Amartya Sen - The Idea of Justice 08 'Narrowing'
Book Reference
Sen, Amartya: 'The Idea of Justice' [Penguin 2010], p.186
A Reaction
Sen passionately pleads that this not be taken out of context. It is about the motivation for the relationship of exchange, and not about morality in general, which also includes trust etc. The subsequent lines in Smith show this.