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Speaking of Smith Archives

Dear Adam Smith: Resentment

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

Great Antidote Deep Dive: Arnold Kling on the Three Languages of Politics

Arnold Kling with Juliette Sellgren
Kling and Sellgren talk about how the trends he wrote the first edition The Three Languages of Politics in 2013 have gotten worse: more anger and more outrage. Recent examples they discuss are covid in the US, the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe v. Wade, and the Russia-Ukraine War.   

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

Caroline Parrish and Karen Yancy for AdamSmithWorks

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

Renee Wilmeth for AdamSmithWorks

"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. 

Great Antidote Deep Dive: Randy Simmons on Public Choice

Randy Simmons with Juliette Sellgren

“Do you think we’re all doomed?” asks Juliette Sellgren. Randy Simmons responds, “I’m optimistic about people and our ability to work around, improve, and go about living our lives. I’m cynical about what government does but I’m not cynical about people”.  

Randy Simmons on Public Choice

Randy Simmons with Juliette Sellgren

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

Amy Willis for AdamSmithWorks
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?

Jon Murphy for AdamSmithWorks

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. 

Great Antidote Deep Dive: Brian Knight on Woke Capitalism

Brian Knight and Juliette Sellgren

Host Juliette Sellgren digs into the good and bad of "Woke Capitalism," Twitter's Trump Ban, Parler's Suspension, Disney's Fight with Gov. DeSantis and more with guest Brian Knight.