The Wisdom of Adam Smith

Adam Smith was not JUST the author of "The Wealth of Nations." That would be quite enough to justify his place in history, but his "Theory of the Moral Sentiments" is another classic --- although less frequently read. I was just looking through it tonight, and came across this thought. (I'll paraphrase to make it shorter, and hope that it works out!) In every society known to man, there has been an upper-crust and a lower-crust. They always have different moral codes. The poor folks are much more severe about their morality: they loathe and despise gambling, drinking, fornication, and all the rest, because they have seen (all too often) that such things lead DIRECTLY TO RUIN. The rich folks, on the other hand, tend to be much more "tolerant" of these foibles, because, after all, someone who is wealthy & privileged can undoubtedly survive years of profligacy, gambling, drinking, and whoring, and still remain "somewhat whole." The one thing he cannot withstand is financial ruin, as Samuel Butler pointed out. Right or wrong? Do we now understand why Whoopi Goldberg and the Hollywood Elite came out in defense of Roman Polanski? Heck, all you need to do is read Adam Smith!

This book provides fascinating insight on all topics from love to war to farming to manufacturing from an economic point of view. You do not need to subscribe to the classical theory to gain wisdom from this book. You don't even need an economics background to appreciate Adam's insight.