tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post2206011443043953456..comments2024-02-23T09:18:10.084-08:00Comments on Icono-Curmudgeon-Clast - Loring Wirbel's Rants: Reading Adam Smith: Pondering the Slow Descent Into Ignorance and FearLoring Wirbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11764834150305763077noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-63176053832392994852007-09-25T17:06:00.000-07:002007-09-25T17:06:00.000-07:00Haha, I'm already deep in ignorance about Adam Smi...Haha, I'm already deep in ignorance about Adam Smith, but I just have to tell you that I didn't notice how much he looks like my picture of Robert Herrick. I think they might compete in the nose category.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-84989647494902747942007-09-22T07:12:00.000-07:002007-09-22T07:12:00.000-07:00As a left winger it's easy to say "no more bombs p...As a left winger it's easy to say "no more bombs please", but it's harder to say "please raise the minimum wage" just because there is whole lot behind it that I don't know. Maybe I'll check out the Krugman, I enjoy him when he isn't being too full of himself.John Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961778820961489603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-88888728436902645682007-09-21T10:55:00.000-07:002007-09-21T10:55:00.000-07:00I haven't finished "Empire Express" yet and now yo...I haven't finished "Empire Express" yet and now you have me hankering to dive into Mr. Smith. Good stuff, Loring.Greeley's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09277152913548239048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-4843007886022711832007-09-21T09:40:00.000-07:002007-09-21T09:40:00.000-07:00I sat thru PJ O'Rourke's book-selling pitch at the...I sat thru PJ O'Rourke's book-selling pitch at the Commonwealth Club about 6 months ago. His Liberaterian streak was strongly on display, and he pitch Smith very much as a Liberaterian. The concept that a market only exists if there are rules (like currencies, etc), and that governments play a role in creating and stablizing markets, is beyond such people. <BR/><BR/>I'll look forward to reading more of this "series". I sure didn't buy O'Rourke's book.<BR/><BR/>wrt a good book on economics.... The topic is broad. I've tried to peel off pieces to better understand them, but as these comments point out, the literature is generally tinged with the bias of the author.<BR/><BR/>One author that may be of interest is Krugman, w/ the NYT. I understand he has a new book, but I've not read it yet. Even he is wrong, 3 years ago after listening to him (Commonwealth club again), I moved to a 30 year mortgage. Then rates fell 1/2 point, before going crazy. Never confuse observations about long term trends w/ financial advice.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14244228208594859246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-28198429366758921962007-09-21T07:39:00.000-07:002007-09-21T07:39:00.000-07:00There's supposed to be a brand-new book coming out...There's supposed to be a brand-new book coming out called "A Farewell to Alms: An Economic History of the World" that got high praise from The Economist. There's lots of good newsy-oriented radical critique books on S&Ls, Enron, etc., like Inside Job, Dirty Money, A Full-Service Bank, Barbarians at the Gates, etc., but I'm not sure of a nice good funny textbook - I bet the Dummies series has some decent ones.Loring Wirbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11764834150305763077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-35724767385958747642007-09-21T07:22:00.000-07:002007-09-21T07:22:00.000-07:00You know of a better book about economics for some...You know of a better book about economics for someone who doesn't know much about it?John Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961778820961489603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-21511642723700600722007-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:002007-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00Absolutely. I appreciate Smith, but I'll never be...Absolutely. I appreciate Smith, but I'll never be a Libertarian, because I believe that many if not most folks, left to their own devices, are devious shmucks. Then we go back to Original Sin. I guess.Loring Wirbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11764834150305763077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-73049134110444220242007-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:002007-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:00Interesting. I haven't read Smith, but I'm trying ...Interesting. <BR/><BR/>I haven't read Smith, but I'm trying to learn more, and as I do, it only reinforces my impression that Smith has a philosophical blind spot. Competition is only as good as the competitors. <BR/><BR/>I had the privilege to speak to Bob Noyce once, for only ten minutes. I called at the height of the mid-'80s Japanese-taking-over-the-electronics -industry scare. One manifestation of which, you'll recall was Sematech, hence my call to Noyce. I think I may have been buying into the panic, and he said something simple and obvious, but unexpected. I don't recall the exact quote, but it was something like: as long as the pie is big enough, who cares how many people are eating?" <BR/><BR/>The problem is that there are those who define winning as "everyone else losing." It's not that big of a deal, maybe, if an NFL quarterback has that attitude, but it's toxic in a salesman, a banker, a developer, or a politician. It's just too prevalent an attitude. <BR/><BR/>So IMO, anyone, whether Smithian or Randy, who trusts that people, as economic actors, when given the freedom to do largely whatever they want, that that will somehow lead to positive results, is being fatally naive -- the fatality being social cohesion all along the scale.<BR/><BR/>The prevailing attitude on competition ramifies for how power is used or misused. I think it's no coincidence that those Americans most adamant about empire are also the ones constantly nattering about "winning" things, even those things that are by definition unwinnable, like, frinstance, an occupation.Brian Santohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08415932044366029481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-63814899853050024372007-09-20T08:16:00.000-07:002007-09-20T08:16:00.000-07:00So far, he doesn't say so explicitly, but the over...So far, he doesn't say so explicitly, but the overall tone of the "invisible hand" rant mixes a tiny bit of Ayn Rand with a lot of social caring: if we leave people to pursue personal-best strategies, results will normalize to serve the greater good. And there are a lot of holders of bureaucratic power who feel threatened by personal-best strategies. Unlike Rand, Smith doesn't believe there's anything wrong with being overtly altruistic. He just says that those who try to enforce fealty to the king, to the sovereign nation, to the monopoly corporation, are those who end up doing everyone harm. Of course, one exception he makes to tariffs and excise taxes is the exception of "national security," using the example of the British Navy (substitute U.S. power projection in the 21st century). The obvious response is to look at the difference between protecting the borders and creating an empire: is anyone served by creating special conditions for 18th century British maritime interests or 21st century U.S. military contractors?Loring Wirbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11764834150305763077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850977918787367334.post-79081285580101623552007-09-19T22:21:00.000-07:002007-09-19T22:21:00.000-07:00Interesting. Does Smith venture a guess why there'...Interesting. Does Smith venture a guess why there's recurring historical hostility to knowledge (and the people who hold it)?Brian Santohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08415932044366029481noreply@blogger.com