The biggest threats to liberty always come from people who look at the world and become firmly convinced that their plan to overhaul the whole system will bring great joy. In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith argues that such people will inevitably bring harm to society. In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare has provided a marvelous example of such a person, exploring both the motivation and the devastation which ensues. Friar Laurence may rank with Iago and Edmund in the roll … [Read more...] about SMITH’S MAN OF SYSTEM IN ROMEO AND JULIET
Adam Smith
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
Do The Eloi And Morlocks Trade?
“I grieved to think how brief the dream of human intellect had been. It had committed suicide.” That is the traveler in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. Leaping forward in time, the traveler discovers a world in which the pastoral Eloi are living lives of rustic comfort, eating the fruit of the land with nary a bit of toil or sweat. Meanwhile, the terrifying Morlock, using vast machines to provide air to their subterranean lair, venture forth under the cover of darkness to feast on the … [Read more...] about Do The Eloi And Morlocks Trade?
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
Hidden Revolutionaries: Tristram Shandy and Adam Smith
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations suffers from a familiarity bias in the modern world. It is difficult to get people excited about a book that explains how the division of labor leads to specialization and trade which then creates immense wealth. The shocking nature of the work is hidden from us because we all see this every day and thus think of it as nothing particularly revolutionary. A good comparison is provided by Isaac Newton’s Principia. In that … [Read more...] about Hidden Revolutionaries: Tristram Shandy and Adam Smith
Can Sober Smithians Soften Polarized Partisans?
The centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the worldYeats’ lines seem to have a particular resonance these days. One of the most frequent laments about the state of modern politics is the rise of polarization. Where, people ask, is the spirit of compromise, the willingness to come together to get things done? Each side blames the polarization on the other. Those who feel trapped in No Man’s Land frequently point to the rise of social media with its separate closed ecosystems. … [Read more...] about Can Sober Smithians Soften Polarized Partisans?