Having actually read some Adam Smith (not the whole book), he goes on and on about asymmetric access / advantages granted through government and how it must be

Having actually read some Adam Smith (not the whole book), he goes on and on about asymmetric access / advantages granted through government and how it must be prevented. The free-market strategy is to recognize that the winner take all capitalist frequently uses the government as the vehicle for winning, and thus limit government. That is not the same as no regulation / de-regulation! Adam Smith was basically saying we need regulation, to keep the government and business apart. IMO, government regulation works when it is structural (e.g. Glass-Steagall worked because it was a simple structural rule) and when it is at the right level (DMVs works because they are state based) and it is easily understood.