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Written by Dr Madsen Pirie
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Tuesday, 06 March 2007 |
My colleague Dr Eamonn Butler spoke at a reception for The Next Generation
last night. He took as his theme the three most important things said
by Adam Smith (on whom he has just completed a short book for the IEA).
Number one was that Smith exploded the notion that people could only
enrich themselves at the expense of others. Not so, said Smith. Wealth
is created by specialization and exchange.
Number two was the invisible hand, that spontaneous ordering of
society which means that when we act in our legitimate self-interest,
we often benefit countless others we shall never meet. When we buy we
unwittingly create employment and pay wages. When we sell we provide
other people with goods they value more than the money they part with.
Number three, from the Theory of Moral Sentiments, is that the
most striking characteristic of humankind is our propensity to
empathize with our fellow men and women, feeling sadness at their grief
and pleasure at their happiness. The three points, taken together,
amount to a powerful social philosophy and gave the world not only the
scientific study of economics, but an understanding of how human beings
interact with each other. Truly a powerful contribution.
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