"On Wall Street he and a few others—how many?—three hundred, four hundred, five hundred?—had become precisely that…Masters of the Universe. There was…no limit whatsoever. […] Moving the lever that moves the world was what he was doing." That was Sherman McCoy in Tom Wolfe’s brilliant 1987 novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities. As an expression of the age, it is right up there with Gordon Gekko’s “greed is good” from Oliver Stone’s 1987 Wall Street. Over time, the popular … [Read more...] about Bankers, Usury, and Wealth Today
Great Books
The Rope Dancers
You almost certainly have never heard of the play The Rope Dancers by Morton Wishengrad.Moreover, you have also almost certainly never heard of Morton Wishengrad in any context.Having just read the play, I am stunned, truly stunned, that this play languishes in obscurity. How obscure is it? There is no Wikipedia page for the play or for the author. Think about that. There is a Wikipedia page for everything I ever look up. Until now. If you start looking for discussions about the play, … [Read more...] about The Rope Dancers
Do Goods Have an Inherently Just Price?
"Now comes deceit betwixt merchant and merchant. And thou shalt understand that merchandise is in many sorts; that one is bodily, and that other is ghostly; that one is honest and lawful, and that other is dishonest and unlawful. Of that bodily merchandise that is lawful and honest is this: that, whereas God has ordained that a reign or a country is sufficient to himself, then is it honest and lawful that of the abundance of this country, men help another country that is more needy. And … [Read more...] about Do Goods Have an Inherently Just Price?
Should Wealth be Distributed Evenly?
It’s because of you that anybody possessesAnything radiant or beautiful or pleasing to mankind.It’s all from wealth that these things stand. —Chremylus talking to Plutus, the God of Wealth in Aristophanes’ Plutus (Wealth) Wealth is a subject on the minds of many. To say that wealth is desirable is about as obvious as a statement can be. As I tell my students if they object, if you have a lot of wealth, you can always give it to your favorite charity (the publisher of Public Discourse, … [Read more...] about Should Wealth be Distributed Evenly?
Imitating Captain Kirk
"This disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect, persons of poor and mean condition, though necessary both to establish and to maintain the distinction of ranks and the order of society, is, at the same time, the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments." More than 250 years later, Adam Smith’s observation from The Theory of Moral Sentiments is still a constant refrain in discussions of … [Read more...] about Imitating Captain Kirk
Star Trek and Adam Smith: Sympathy of the Vians
Adam Smith begins The Theory of Moral Sentiments with a discussion of sympathy:"How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it." What follows is a lengthy exploration of the implications of the fact that we are sympathetic beings. Smith provides an array of examples meant to illustrate the … [Read more...] about Star Trek and Adam Smith: Sympathy of the Vians