Author Topic: Adam Smith  (Read 1047 times)

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Offline Skull

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Adam Smith
« on: May 09, 2021, 06:35:20 pm »
Not appreciated much nowadays.  But this philosopher's Theory of Moral Sentiments was his altruistic motivation, I think, for his Wealth of Nations:

Here is the 1790 sixth edition of his essay in PDF:

https://www.ibiblio.org/ml/libri/s/SmithA_MoralSentiments_p.pdf
« Last Edit: May 09, 2021, 06:37:09 pm by Skull »
Truth is against the stream of common thought, deep, subtle, difficult, delicate, unseen by passion’s slaves cloaked in the murk of ignorance. Vipassī Buddha

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Re: Adam Smith
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2021, 06:55:05 pm »
There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.

-Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Book 4-
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.

-Dwight Eisenhower-


"The [U.S.] Constitution is a limitation on the government, not on private individuals ... it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only the conduct of the government ... it is not a charter for government power, but a charter of the citizen's protection against the government."

-Ayn Rand-

Offline Skull

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Re: Adam Smith
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2021, 10:52:37 pm »
The Cambridge 2002 edition has a helpful Introduction by the editor Knud Haakonssen, which makes clear to the uneducated (like me) that Smith was not a metaphysical philosopher but a humanist.  One who saw the the mind of humans is torn between altruistic & selfish tendencies.  So Smith explained an exclusive attitude for one or the other is only possible for a saint or a monster.  Thus the vast majority of us have to begin our goodwill in the home, yet never limit it there but help others.  Employing them in our business, in addition to charitable works are two possibilities.
Truth is against the stream of common thought, deep, subtle, difficult, delicate, unseen by passion’s slaves cloaked in the murk of ignorance. Vipassī Buddha

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Re: Adam Smith
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2021, 02:07:38 am »
I always liked Adam Smith.  I just D/L'ed both books to my Kindle.
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
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Offline Skull

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Re: Adam Smith
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2021, 08:30:22 pm »
Cannot say if Smith valued the virtue of prudence or simply observed how common it is among people.  Here is little from Part six of his Theory of Moral Sentiments:

Quote
7 The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand
whatever he professes to understand, and not merely to persuade
other people that he understands it; and though his talents may not
always be very brilliant, they are always perfectly genuine. He neither
endeavours to impose upon you by the cunning devices of an artful
impostor, nor by the arrogant airs of an assuming pedant, nor by the
confident assertions of a superficial and impudent pretender. He is
not ostentatious even of the abilities which he really possesses. His
conversation is simple and modest, and he is averse to all the quackish
arts by which other people so frequently thrust themselves into public
notice and reputation. For reputation in his profession he is naturally
disposed to rely a good deal upon the solidity of his knowledge and
abilities; and he does not always think of cultivating the favour of those
little clubs and cabals, who, in the superior arts and sciences, so often
erect themselves into the supreme judges of merit; and who make it
their business to celebrate the talents and virtues of one another, and
to decry whatever can come into competition with them. If he ever
connects himself with any society of this kind, it is merely in self-defense,
not with a view to impose upon the public, but to hinder the
public from being imposed upon, to his disadvantage, by the clamours,
the whispers, or the intrigues, either of that particular society, or of
some other of the same kind.
Truth is against the stream of common thought, deep, subtle, difficult, delicate, unseen by passion’s slaves cloaked in the murk of ignorance. Vipassī Buddha

Offline Skull

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Re: Adam Smith
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2021, 08:41:50 pm »
There is, however, an uncommon superior prudence, which Smith praises:

Quote
14 Prudence, in short, when directed merely to the care of the health, of
the fortune, and of the rank and reputation of the individual, though
it is regarded as a most respectable, and even, in some degree, as an
amiable and agreeable quality, yet it never is considered as one, either
of the most endearing, or of the most ennobling of the virtues. It commands
a certain cold esteem, but seems not entitled to any very ardent
love or admiration.

15 Wise and judicious conduct, when directed to greater and nobler purposes
than the care of the health, the fortune, the rank and reputation
of the individual, is frequently and very properly called prudence.
We talk of the prudence of the great general, of the great statesman,
of the great legislator. Prudence is, in all these cases, combined with
many greater and more splendid virtues, with valour, with extensive
and strong benevolence, with a sacred regard to the rules of justice,
and all these supported by a proper degree of self-command. This
superior prudence, when carried to the highest degree of perfection,
necessarily supposes the art, the talent, and the habit or disposition of
acting with the most perfect propriety in every possible circumstance
and situation. It necessarily supposes the utmost perfection of all the
intellectual and of all the moral virtues. It is the best head joined to
the best heart. It is the most perfect wisdom combined with the most
perfect virtue. It constitutes very nearly the character of the Academical
or Peripatetic sage, as the inferior prudence does that of the Epicurean.
Truth is against the stream of common thought, deep, subtle, difficult, delicate, unseen by passion’s slaves cloaked in the murk of ignorance. Vipassī Buddha

Online Bigun

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Re: Adam Smith
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2021, 08:45:54 pm »
ADAM SMITH ON TAXES

Quote
...“the tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be certain and not arbitrary” and “clear and plain”--that is, transparent to everyone. Transparency would help prevent unscrupulous “tax gatherers” from undermining trust in the system...

Quote
...“Every tax” should be devised so as “both to take out and keep out of the pockets of the people as little as possible over and above what it brings into the public treasury of a state.”...

https://economicsconcepts.com/canons_of_taxation.htm
« Last Edit: May 10, 2021, 08:54:14 pm by Bigun »
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
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