[dredmorbius]

Smith had very few good things to say of joint-stock (shareholder-owned) corporations. They were comparatively scarce at the time. Most businesses of his time, including the "baker and butcher" line you quite, were sole proprietorships or family-owned and operated.

The interests he writes of are those of the butcher and baker to themselves. Not to their shareholders.

"Shareholder value" is a recent error attributed to Milton Friedman.