People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.

Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations (1776), Book I, Chapter X, Part II Verified source · How we source quotes
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Adam Smith wrote this in The Wealth of Nations, Book I. He accepts that no law could stop such meetings without harming liberty or justice, but argues the law should do nothing to make them easier, and certainly nothing to make them necessary. The passage sits in a part of the chapter on inequalities caused by the policy of European governments.

Source: The Wealth of Nations (1776), Book I, Chapter X, Part II

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