Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 17 “Bill Gates and the Pitfalls of Philanthrocapitalism” Foster next turns to Bill Gates’ call for a “creative capitalism” that he saw as a new form that would merge the ideas of caring for others…
Tag: Adam Smith
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Corporate Social Responsibility Is Irresponsible
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 15 “Global Salvationism” Foster is flipping a popular narrative about the problem of big business on its head in this part of the chapter. Such fears have led to calls for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), but it…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Beyond Good Intentions: We Need to Be Saved from the Saviors of Global Salvationism
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 15 “Global Salvationism” In an earlier chapter, Foster refers to the work of economist David Henderson who developed the idea of DIYE, do-it-yourself-economics, which is a compilation of subconscious, erroneous ideas that many people hold…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Behavioral Economics: Correcting a Problem Economics Does Not Have
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 12 “Homer Economicus” Foster turns his attention to the field of Behavioral Economics that gained a lot of attention in the early 2000’s. However, it is clear Foster is unimpressed. Two psychologists kicked the field…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
The Problems We Cause Ourselves from Few Seeing the Invisible Hand
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 9 “The Invisible Metaphor” Foster dives deeper in this chapter into the significance of the Invisible Hand metaphor credited to Adam Smith. In this blog, we will concentrate on what is meant by the Invisible Hand, and…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Are We Born to Not Understand Economics?
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 8 “Do-It-Yourself Economics” Foster dives deep into the assumptions he says we carry around unknowingly that cause us to make erroneous judgements about business and economics. He cites work by Steven Pinker in the field of conceptual…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Are We Anti-Capitalist by Design or by Evolution?
A Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 7 “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” As Foster continues to explore reasons people tend to dislike capitalism despite the wealth it has generated the past couple of hundred years, he turns to the ideas of Charles Darwin and natural selection….
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Bernard Mandeville’s Dark Take on Commerce and the Persistence of Flawed Ideas
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 6 “Tuesdays with Mandeville” As introduced in the last blog, Bernard Mandeville pioneered writing about the hypocrisy he thought was endemic to commerce that was a conversation happily continued by many to follow. Foster dives…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Rand’s Front Row Seat to the Russian Revolution Created her Commitment to Individualism
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 5 “The Passion of Ayn Rand” I am not sure how I ended up reading, We the Living, but I am really glad I did. It was the first novel Ayn Rand wrote but it was not…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
When Privilege met Narcissism, Marxism was Born
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 4 “Dark Satanic Minds” Last blog, we learned about one of the Utopians, Robert Owen, that rose up to challenge capitalism because of all the social upheaval wrought by industrialization. A more famous challenge, and one that persists…