Americans Need a Clearer Understanding of What a Market that Works for them Looks Like

(Conservative Liberal Adam Smith laid it out back in the Founding times)Show more

Daniel Klein - George Mason University Professor
econfaculty.gmu.edu/klein

If we’re going to have to “build back better”, whether we want to or not, shouldn’t Americans with traditional values brainstorm on what we actually want? The Constitution, of course, produced a workable framework at our Founding, but today’s fickle electorate wants “bread and circuses”, so we better entertain them with a vision that excites them.

It turns out that a cold economist from the Enlightenment, Adam Smith (remember “The Invisible Hand”?) had a soft side, and wrote another book on morals, even introducing love, sympathy, and benevolence to explain how people act in ordinary life. Ethical concepts especially need airing in today’s conflicted society.

At AdamSmithWorks.com, Mr. Klein shows this side of the economist, as well, teaching not just about commerce and the role of government, but also about morality and equality. He called Smith’s recommendation “conservative liberalism”, which sounds like a bipartisan solution that may serve the ticket most Americans could support. Is it something politicians today could offer?