Russ Roberts
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I read the first page.
I had no idea what it was talking about.
It kind of starts in midstream.
Read the second page.
I read about, I don't know, five, ten pages, and I thought...
I don't really get this book at all.
And so I persevered and eventually fell in love with the book.
Adam Smith is a brilliant writer.
He's a brilliant stylist.
He's one of the rare people writing in the 18th century that you can read with utter delight and pleasure most of the time.
He forces you to look at yourself and realize what makes you tick.
Pushes your buttons, rings your bells, tightens your shoelaces.
He understands our flaws.
He understands our need for self-deception.
We want to be appreciated.
We want to matter.
And what he's saying there is that not only do we want to be praised and honored and respected, but we want to earn that honestly.
We want to be praiseworthy.
We want to be honorable.
We want to merit that.