----------------------------------How Adam Smith can change your life------------------------------
Recently I stumbled upon a beautiful work - authored by Russ Roberts a well known contemporary economist about another well known economist Adam Smith who produced great classic -The wealth of nations- written some 250 years ago.The book written by Russ Roberts is not about The wealth of Nations.In fact before Adam Smith produced his classical economics theory which is very much relevant and revered even today ,he produced a beautiful work named - The theory of Modern Sentiments. This book viz The theory of Modern sentiment tries to answer questions such as - what is good life and or how one should live a good life .Is it about money or about fame or about success or does it mean helping others and making the world a better place? The theory of moral sentiments tries to answer - where the morality comes from,and why people act decently, even when it conflicts woth their self interst.Adam Smith tells about good life,and how to achieve it. Though the book was a success in its own time but was subsequently dwarfed by famous classic produced by Adam Smith viz WEALTH OF NATIONS published in 1776 and made Smith forever famous for his theory of capitalism.
Scottish Adam Smith was a philosopher and his writing style was very different from today's authors.However reading about The theory of Moral sentiments from the work of Russ Roberts
' How Adam Smith can change your life - an unexpected guide to human nature and happiness.'
I liked this book so much that i read the same over and over again.Hence my desire to share the learning in this blog.
Adam smith in this book - moral sentiments - makes one understand to what extent people are self centered and beyond a stage they do care about others , whether achieving what one has desired for himself is of much consequence , he dispenses timeless advice how to treat money,ambition ,fame and morality.How one should take failure and material achievements.
It gives answers to questions such as why people like say Meena Kumari or Guru Dutt had to face failure or such an end. Or some like Virender Sehwag had failure and brought an abrupt end to their carreer.are so unhappy at times and why people cry if anyone of celebrity meets tragedy anytime.
Irony is that author of WEALTH OF NATIONS write on futility of persuing money with hope of finding happiness.Besides Adam Smith also tells in this book - how to lead good life in the fullest sense of this phrase.
While Smith's Wealth of nations says that people are basically self interested ( not the same as selfish) we try to specialise and excel in our field and othersdo in their respective fields and we exchange our expertise so that we all survive for the overall good ofsociety.A beautiful sentence of Smith is quoted in this regard as below
It is not the benovelance of the butcher ,the Brewer or Baker , that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest .We address not to their humanity but to their self love and never talk to them of them of our own necessities bit of their advantage
In this book ..Moral sentiments ,Adam Smith who was not a big fan of the persuit of fame and fortune ,he sums up his philosophy about human beings in following few word
Man naturally desires ,not only to be loved ,but to be LOVELY.
The whole book revolves around these 12 words and tries to find answers asto how one can be LOVELY as perceived by Adam Smith.It is necessary to mention that Smith when he says - to be loved he does not mean in the sense we mean today - i.e as to be loved by family and near ones and Lovely too does not refer to attractive .First about' to be loved' means to be appreciated,desired ,liked or respected .And 'lovely' also in broader sense - we want to be seen as praiseworthy,or one does not want to be hated.The book revolves around Smith' s effort to explain how one can be LOVELY.
Smith also says that ' To be loved without being lovely- to be praised without being praiseworthy- is a temptation of weak and foolish person ,not the wise one.The wise man avoids all such temptations.We all like to be genuinely loved rather than just because we hold certain position of power.
We are able to understand when someone praises us though we do not deserve that praise.We so want to be LOVELY that we can convince ourselves that we deserve certain praise heaped on us for a particular act of ours. Smith encourages us not be carried away by false praise.
There are two ways to be loved .One , you can be rich and famous.Second you are wise and virtuous.Smith says that second is a proper way to go about.According to Smith appropriate behavior or proper behaviour will ensure that.
What is this appropriate or proper behaviour?
It is same as meeting the expectations of people around us.
There can be some actions which may be perceived by us as proper but other's may not view them like that.However what we are talking here is about actions which would be universally considered as appropriate.
Like ability to be sympathatic to others where thery need sympathy or compassion.
Smith says that we do share happiness of others when they succeed but if someone gets very abnormal success ,our ego takes over and we may not express but our joy has an aspect which we are not able to conceal which is - how come he got so much unbelievable success.we are unable to digest.Similarly in someone' s grief too we do share grief of others but the same is momentary and it passes off after a while.Smith says that our emotions have to be similar to the emotions of others in their joy or tragic moments.Our genuine happiness at abnormal success of others or tragedy others go through should be similar to that another which makes us LOVELY.
Smith also wants us to be virtuous.The traits which makes us virtuous are
Prudence,Justice and Beneficence. These traits makes us respected,and admired by those around us and thus loved.
A prudent person is one who has mild manners, he does not impose his will or ideas on others or so to say he does not dominate or is not aggressive .
Smith says about prudentperson as below
The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand whatever he professes to unferstand and not merely to persuade others that he understands it ; and though his talent might not always be very brilliant ,they are always perfectly genuine.
Smith's prudent man may seem little boring as he is very mild, not dominating ,does not display his talent unabashedly, but he is one who is prudent and thus admired and loved because he is lovely.
What does Smith means by being just is that we act in a fair manner to others or not being unreasonable or unfair.Hillel a philosopher who lived a few centuries before Smith said
Don't do unto others what you would not want done to you
Don't steal,don't cheat don't take advantage of others etc
Smith invokes the concept of justice in another way as well.We are generally decent and nice .why is it? It is because when we act - even wrongly or unreasonably - we become conscious as if someone is watching from within us or through our shoulders whom we can't face or we want him not to feel that we are unreasonable , we correct ourselves and be judicious.It is not God or any other force it is this impartial person who we feel judges us and we want to come upto his expectations.
Man naturally desires ,not only to be loved ,but to be LOVELY.
The whole book revolves around these 12 words and tries to find answers asto how one can be LOVELY as perceived by Adam Smith.It is necessary to mention that Smith when he says - to be loved he does not mean in the sense we mean today - i.e as to be loved by family and near ones and Lovely too does not refer to attractive .First about' to be loved' means to be appreciated,desired ,liked or respected .And 'lovely' also in broader sense - we want to be seen as praiseworthy,or one does not want to be hated.The book revolves around Smith' s effort to explain how one can be LOVELY.
Smith also says that ' To be loved without being lovely- to be praised without being praiseworthy- is a temptation of weak and foolish person ,not the wise one.The wise man avoids all such temptations.We all like to be genuinely loved rather than just because we hold certain position of power.
We are able to understand when someone praises us though we do not deserve that praise.We so want to be LOVELY that we can convince ourselves that we deserve certain praise heaped on us for a particular act of ours. Smith encourages us not be carried away by false praise.
There are two ways to be loved .One , you can be rich and famous.Second you are wise and virtuous.Smith says that second is a proper way to go about.According to Smith appropriate behavior or proper behaviour will ensure that.
What is this appropriate or proper behaviour?
It is same as meeting the expectations of people around us.
There can be some actions which may be perceived by us as proper but other's may not view them like that.However what we are talking here is about actions which would be universally considered as appropriate.
Like ability to be sympathatic to others where thery need sympathy or compassion.
Smith says that we do share happiness of others when they succeed but if someone gets very abnormal success ,our ego takes over and we may not express but our joy has an aspect which we are not able to conceal which is - how come he got so much unbelievable success.we are unable to digest.Similarly in someone' s grief too we do share grief of others but the same is momentary and it passes off after a while.Smith says that our emotions have to be similar to the emotions of others in their joy or tragic moments.Our genuine happiness at abnormal success of others or tragedy others go through should be similar to that another which makes us LOVELY.
Smith also wants us to be virtuous.The traits which makes us virtuous are
Prudence,Justice and Beneficence. These traits makes us respected,and admired by those around us and thus loved.
A prudent person is one who has mild manners, he does not impose his will or ideas on others or so to say he does not dominate or is not aggressive .
Smith says about prudentperson as below
The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand whatever he professes to unferstand and not merely to persuade others that he understands it ; and though his talent might not always be very brilliant ,they are always perfectly genuine.
Smith's prudent man may seem little boring as he is very mild, not dominating ,does not display his talent unabashedly, but he is one who is prudent and thus admired and loved because he is lovely.
What does Smith means by being just is that we act in a fair manner to others or not being unreasonable or unfair.Hillel a philosopher who lived a few centuries before Smith said
Don't do unto others what you would not want done to you
Don't steal,don't cheat don't take advantage of others etc
Smith invokes the concept of justice in another way as well.We are generally decent and nice .why is it? It is because when we act - even wrongly or unreasonably - we become conscious as if someone is watching from within us or through our shoulders whom we can't face or we want him not to feel that we are unreasonable , we correct ourselves and be judicious.It is not God or any other force it is this impartial person who we feel judges us and we want to come upto his expectations.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJai Hind. Good morning. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully epistled abridgement of author's thoughts.
Girotra Ji could you please mention publisher's address.
This is a penguin book.But the original work of Adam Smith is available at Kindle
ReplyDeleteThis is a penguin book.But the original work of Adam Smith is available at Kindle
ReplyDelete