Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 3 “Fears of a Clown: The Golden Arch-Enemy” Foster turns his attention to a major U.S. company, McDonald’s, that he notes has long been a target of derision from American elites. McDonald’s had long been the Golden…
Tag: Self-interest
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Grave Inequality: Smith’s Final Resting Place Lost to Government Run Obscurity While Marx Generates Profits
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…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Adam Smith Would Be Surprised to Learn People Think He Supports Greed
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 2 “The Sage of Kirkcaldy” In this chapter, Peter Foster follows Adam Smith through the years as he developed his ideas that were enshrined in his two books, The Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759 and The Wealth of Nations in…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
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…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Why is Our Culture Hostile to Capitalism?
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 1 “Cardboard Cut-out Capitalism” The title of journalist Peter Foster’s book definitely captured my attention: Why We Bite the Invisible Hand. The invisible hand is a metaphor from Adam Smith that we use in economics to describe how the economy…
Bourgeois Equality
Most of All, Profit Seeking is Even Good for the Poor
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 61 “And Therefore Bourgeois Rhetoric Was Better for the Poor” As Dr. McCloskey is wrapping up Part IX of her book addressing how both history and economics have been misunderstood, she is arguing against the notion that the worker are living under a “false…
Bourgeois Equality
And Profit Seeking Frees Workers, too.
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 60 “And Liberating in Production” Dr. McCloskey spears “one of the left’s economic dogmas” in this chapter — wage slavery. (p. 569) By dogma she means any “passionate belief held uncritically”. (p. 569) She notes wage slave is defined as “a person who is wholly dependent…
Bourgeois Equality
Profit Seeking is Egalitarian
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 59 “Trade-Tested Betterment is Democratic in Consumption” Sadly (to me as an economist) profit is often taken to be a dirty word, when in fact in a competitive market it is the driver to use our resources most efficiently, creating the most using the…
Bourgeois Equality
Knowing the Source of the Great Enrichment Is Crucial
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 56 “The Change in Ideas Contradicts Many Ideas from the Political Middle, 1890–1980” Not only is this chapter starting Part 9 out of 10 of Dr. McCloskey’s book, but these last 2 parts are addressing the fourth, and last, big question: What are the…
Bourgeois Equality
And the New Bourgeois Respect Created Vested Interests Supportive of the Great Enrichment
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 48 “And Betterment, Though Long Disdained, Developed Its Own Vested Interests” Change is hard to do in a system in part because it hurts one or more groups who are part of the existing status quo. So how can something as big as a…