Speaking of Smith Archives

What Adam Smith Ate: Cheese

June 16, 2022

Adam Smith wrote “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” He could have added the cheesemonger, too...

Adam Smith and the Economic Concept of Repugnance

June 14, 2022

Some kinds of transactions are repugnant in some times and places and not in others. In Smith, there is an empiricist and practical morality, which could change.

#ReadWithMe: Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment: Science Goes Public

June 9, 2022

Early in the Enlightenment, science was still haunted by the specter of charlatanry, and scientists were keen to demystify science. The Royal Society came into existence, illustrating the emphasis on community and conversation.

Dear Adam Smith: Resentment

June 7, 2022

Feeling Resentful at Work? Before you quit in a fit, let Adam Smith offer some advice.

What Would Adam Smith Think? The Causes and Consequences of the Great Resignation

June 2, 2022

The pandemic illuminated many "insufficient encouragements." Many workers realized their skill sets are better leverage than before. People choosing to quit are acting in their self-interest and that’s a good thing.

What Adam Smith Ate: Scotch Broth

May 31, 2022

"Soups were practical because they were the perfect way to cook vegetables with broth even if there was no meat in the house. Barley, oats, or potatoes could make a soup hearty. Cooks could also add fish or meat to go along with the root vegetables plentiful in Scotland." This version can be made with lamb shank, lamb shoulder, bone-in beef shoulder, or oxtail.

#ReadWithMe: Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness

May 26, 2022

For Robertson, the Enlightenment is characterized by that now famous phrase, “the pursuit of happiness,” alongside a recognition and expansion of our notion of human sociality. In his view, human sociality is a vital characteristic to understanding any enlightenment project.

Would Adam Smith Have Supported the Jones Act?

May 24, 2022

Writing at the Center for International Maritime Security, analyst Michael Purzycki argues Smith would have supported the Jones Act. Jon Murphy disagrees and gives Smith the nuance he deserves.

Was Adam Smith Wrong? Mutual Sympathy and A Beautiful Mind

May 18, 2022

A careful reading of Adam Smith will show that Smith and Nash may be closer than this scene suggests if we look at this problem from Smith’s point of view.

Economists Often Solve Puzzles - But What About Murders?

May 9, 2022

"Because of Wheeler’s constant womanizing, Monte Vista turns out to be a target rich environment for suspects. The mystery that Spearman and Fuller have to untangle is this: Was the artist’s death truly a suicide, a crime of passion, or are deeper market forces at work?"

How Professor Smith Helped Me Survive my Undergraduate Degree

May 5, 2022

Does Adam Smith have any advice for contemporary college students? What might he say to the modern college student just starting out and who feels like they have no clue what they are doing? Why would these dusty old texts help us figure out our way through our chaotic and tumultuous college years?

Read With Me: Friedrich Engels' The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State - Part 2

May 2, 2022

This also points to a key difference between men like Friedrich Engels and Adam Smith. Engels took humankind as he wished them to be (without jealousy) in order for his proposed worldview to work. Adam Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, takes men as they are. In the famous “benevolence of the butcher” quote, Smith acknowledged that humankind acts in their own self-interest. Capitalism harnesses this self-interest instead of punishing it. Engels seeks to punish those acting out of self-interest.