Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 2 “The Sage of Kirkcaldy” In the first part of my discussion of this chapter, we looked at what Peter Foster told us about Adam Smith’s life and the developoment of his ideas that we know today…
Tag: Communism

Capitalism Needs a PR Team
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 1 “Cardboard Cut-out Capitalism” Peter Foster notes in his book that capitalism is a word everyone uses, often with negative connotations, but seldom define. (p. 24) Defining capitalism is one of the key sticking points for authors…

Both the Right and the Left Oppose the Bourgeois
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 65 “Despite the Clerisy’s Doubts” Dr. McCloskey continues her discussion of the threats to a continuation of the bourgeois trade tested system of betterment that has given us a 3000% to 10,000% growth in incomes over the past two hundred years. In this chapter…

Peter Pan Bohemians Think They Know Best How We Should Live
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 64 “Anticonsumerism and Pro-Bohemianism were Fruits of the Antibetterment Reaction” Last chapter, Dr. McCloskey described two alternative deals the clerisy preferred as alternatives to the Bourgeois Deal. The Bolshevik Deal represents attempts at Communism as in the former Soviet Union, and the Bismarckian Deal lives on…

The Elite Replaced the Bourgeois Deal with Ones that Put Them in Charge
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 63 “The Clerisy Betrayed the Bourgeois Deal, and Approved the Bolshevik and Bismarckian Deals” Finally, we reach the chapter that explains what Dr. McCloskey has been alluding to throughout the book about the clerisy’s change in rhetoric against the Bourgeois Deal. What she calls the clerisy…

The Great Conversion Threatens the Great Enrichment
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 62 “After 1848 the Clerisy Converted to Antibetterment” As we start Part X, the last part of Dr. McCloskey’s book, she turns to the threats facing the Great Enrichment. She has argued that what allowed the Great Enrichment to take root in England around…

Communism, Attitudes, and Political Sustainability
A Discussion of “The Long-Term Effects of Communism in Eastern Europe” Communism ended in Eastern Europe over three decades ago, but does that mean the market system that took its place is secure? What impact do the cultural and economic attitudes of the people have on the sustainability of the market…

Sports, Religion, Communism, and Capitalism
A Discussion of “Emotional Tagging and Belief Formation: The Long-Lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism” Have you ever shared a dramatic experience with other people but each of you have a very different reaction? Each seems to draw their own conclusion, learn different lessons, store different memories. That’s similar to what…