Tag: economic history
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Why the West Progressed in Ways No One Else Had
I just read Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages by Frances & Joseph Gies. The book focuses on technological development during the 1,000 years from 500-1500 C.E. The Middle Ages was once cast as an age of regression from the golden age of Greece and Rome until the Renaissance and…
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Once More on Adam Smith and Self-Interest
Adam Smith's Lost Legacy (Gavin Kennedy): Once More on Adam Smith and Self-Interest … Consider what Adam Smith states early in Wealth Of Nations about "self-interest": "In civilized society he stands at all times in need of the co–operation and assistance of great multitudes, while his whole life is scarce sufficient to gain the friendship…
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Adam Smith’s Authentic Views On Church and State
One of my favorite blogs is Adam Smith's Lost Legacy, written by economic historian Gavin Kennedy. He frequently finds mentions of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" from around the web and then debunks the abuse of Smith's views. The metaphor mentioned only twice in passing in The Wealth of Nations, was appropriated by economists over the…