Could have had another book review on Siggy's list this week, but alas I tardied (#1465060)... hopefully this one can last for next week so I'll bank some reward sats!!. GOTTA HAVE MORE DEN-STRAVAGANZAS #1463395

We've talked a little bit about Russ Roberts around here (#1459335, #1458308) -- the formerly great podcast host and economist. I always credit him with being the first/super-early to the podcast game, and remarkably had the perseverance to keep at it... for, like, two decades! He went pretty bananas in recent years, stopped doing serious econ, moved to Israel, and totally lost all my respect during Covid.... but that's beside the point for this work.

In 2014 he wrote a book about Adam Smith's somewhat lesser-known work (The Theory of Moral Sentiments) called How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness... the British cover is more balanced and respectable, whereas the American (above) is BADASS.

Before Adam Smith was considered an economist writer on political economy, he was a moral philosopher; TMS is published a decade and a half before The Wealth of Nations. (And after that publication, he also worked on a revised version of TMS, so it's clear that these two books were aligned and noncontradictory in his mind -> difference lies in concentric layers of affection:

"Smith felt that we cannot extend the love and concern (both selfless and self-interested) beyond our immediate circle of friends and associates." (p. 233)"Smith felt that we cannot extend the love and concern (both selfless and self-interested) beyond our immediate circle of friends and associates." (p. 233)

Anyway, I bought this book sometime during my uni years and since then it's gathered dust in at least three different homes. Unread, I've moved it around with me... surely there'll be a moment for it?

For some unfathomable reason, three weeks ago I picked it up... appropriate because this year is the 250th anniversary of WoN. It's a surprisingly easy book to read, though scattered with plenty of Adam Smith quotes for that illustrious 18th-century prose feel. Like the title suggests, it's practically a self-help book... of the timeless kind: It's remarkable how the moral sentiments(!) of three centuries ago are still so relevant and true.

How to Live Well, according to Adam SmithHow to Live Well, according to Adam Smith

Seek wisdom and virtue. Behave as if an impartial spectator is watching you. Use the idea of an impartial spectator to step outside yourself and see yourself as others see you. (p. 115)

Particularly this resonates with my life these days:

“Avoid the seductions of money and fame, for they will never satisfy.”“Avoid the seductions of money and fame, for they will never satisfy.”

Especially this we've talked about here before (#1457752), p. 117:

The really astonishing contribution of economics, says Roberts echoing and marrying the two very different-seeming Adam Smiths of TMS and WoN,

Thinking clearly about the complex interactions of individual actions that lead to unintended patterns of predictable and orderly outcomes is, I believe, the single deepest contribution of economics to understanding how the world works. (pp. 180-81)

...and that comes out mostly in TMS (the famous "invisible hand" analogy exists in both works, but only a handful(!) of times)

Ironically, implies Roberts, the unintended-consequences comes through mostly via TMS — not the Wealth of Nations.

… [Smith] describes how individual choices can lead to important social outcomes. He’s talking about something more important than the price of apples. **He’s describing the role each of us plays in creating a moral society. You can even make the bolder claim that he is describing the role each of us plays in creating our civilization, the society that many of us are fortunate enough to live in, which, despite its immense imperfections, is many steps above savagery. (p. 180)

All the norms that overlay our daily interactions—the trust, the empathy, the respect, the disdain, the rejection, the kindness, the cruelty—all these patterns of behavior around us come from all our actions together in a similar way that language usage is ‘decided’ by all our individual actions together (p. 181)

 “Being trustworthy and honest maintains and helps to extend the culture of decency beyond your own reach… When you behave with virtue you are helping to sustain that system” (p. 196) “Being trustworthy and honest maintains and helps to extend the culture of decency beyond your own reach… When you behave with virtue you are helping to sustain that system” (p. 196)

Rather than trying to “save the world” by making grand deeds or running NGOs or feeding the poor or qualifying for a Nobel Peace Prize, “Smith reminds us that our small steps matter, too. Less gaud actions make a difference by joining with the quiet actions of others to create a culture of trust and kindness and respect.” (p. 198)

Years before Jordan Peterson and Twelve Rules for Life, Roberts used Adam Smith to formulate a similar message. Start with your surroundings… put the phone down and go outside.... be nice to your parents. None of these things show up in GDP, says Roberts, but they may be the most important things we do.

And it’s astonishing how often deep economics thinkers end up outlining civilization... The Viennese, from which the Austrians came, are a case in point (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/viennese-students-of-civilization/A8B093597C89F74B31D267E9AB752BE6)

Finally, for us muses and writers and ever-the-ruminators, here are some good arguments in favor of keeping a journal or writing out your ideas before using them/acting on them, the virtue of spelling out/articulating anger or sadness or frustration and leaving them unsent:

It's not that they're wrong or fake or unreal, but at the moment unconsidered and insufficiently meliorated. They're not out deepest core, they're our unfinished thoughts — premature judgements.

TL;DR = I liked the book. It was easy, had some powerful stories and self-helpish improvements, and paired that with the aura of Adam Smith... _what's not to like?!_