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Why Read Adam Smith Today? Enduring Insight
After a year-long celebration of Adam Smith's birth in 2023, Peter Boettke addresses those still not well-versed with Smith's magisterial work of political economy.
The Practical Roles of the Ideal: Adam Smith and Plato
August 28, 2024 Some interpret Plato as too idealistic to have practical bearing on the real world of politics. Adam Smith, in Theory of Moral Sentiments, provides another lens through which to understand the roles of the ideal. Smith sheds light on the practical implications of Platonic philosophy for members of the polity. A thread can thus be drawn from the liberal philosophy of Smith back to the ancient wisdom of Plato. "A personal pursuit of upwardness is sustainable, irrespective of the political conditions one finds oneself in. And that personal pursuit is perhaps the most practical way to influence how society is governed."
The Pursuit of David Hume (and Certainty)
Shirley Robin Letwin’s The Pursuit of Certainty , focuses on David Hume (and others) to understand how politics changed over time in England. Amy Willis encourages you to read, think, and question Hume's ideas and how they are used by others.
A Gentlemanly Experiment in the “Loose, Vague, and Indeterminate”
Is one loose rule better than 100 carefully crafted ones? Nicholas Snow offers a Smithian instance where the answer just might be yes.
Yuval Levin on The American Covenant
Remembering and embracing the spirit upon which America was founded—one of intellectual and political dynamism—is key to striking the balance between life, politics, and disagreement that has felt so off-kilter recently.
Henry C. Clark on Growth
Growth is essential to human life. Always has been, always will be. From the moment we are born, we grow, and we continue to throughout our lives, whether that is physically, mentally, or otherwise. Societies grow, too. But what IS growth?