If you’re an American (and quite possibly if you’re not), the year 1776 is probably emblazoned as an incredibly important landmark in the history of government and political thought.
For me, the doc that had a bigger impact on the world is the short story my father wrote to convince my mother to go out with him. I'd not be here without it. But I guess that's not worth much to the rest of humanity :-P Nice article, as always :-)
Smith started the labor theory of value and Marx was at the endpoint. This is why political economy became economics when the basis of value had to be changed from labor to marginal utility. (Short Version e.g. their are arguments, equivocations, and a huge number of formulas in the longer version see also subjectivty versus objective theories of value)
Agree, VERY short version! I didn't even touch on this since I knew it would be thorny, but eventually I'd like to cover the labor theory. That was huge, you're right.
Just on the Declaration of Independence, there is a school of thought that it was based on the Declaration of Arbroath from 1320 which demanded Scotland be freed from the yoke of the English king. Of course, in that document, they still wanted a king, just a different one 😁
Nice detail! I might also add: the Magna Carta made the whole concept possible, too. And, like the Declaration, it was for really rich people, not "everyone" as kind of assumed by regular folks alive today. Still, it was a good acorn to plant!
This is a cool way to think about 1776! I never knew Adam Smith's book was such a big deal. Maybe having a strong economy is just as important as being free to choose your leaders.
I might look at it a little differently, although that's certainly not wrong. If I can choose my leaders, but my family starves to death, that's no good. however, I think the freedom to choose how much you spend on things and sell things for, and the freedom to move money around is right up there with the freedom to choose our leaders. Both represent individual freedom in different ways.
I agree that The Wealth of Nations was a game changer, and government by markets made my life possible. Prior to capitalism, people were born into a certain class and remained in that class no matter what. Capitalism allowed for meritocracy, and meritocracy has been very good for me. The problem is that it leaves some people out. The “merit” we measure is not equally distributed. That’s where the Declaration comes into play: all people are of equal moral worth irrespective of their talents. (Obviously, we’ve expanded the document’s meaning. The Founders meant all white male Landon, whereas we now include everyone at least in theory.
Yes, 100%. Governments need to use capitalism as a tool and not overdo it, but we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater! The useful parts are incredible.
For me, the doc that had a bigger impact on the world is the short story my father wrote to convince my mother to go out with him. I'd not be here without it. But I guess that's not worth much to the rest of humanity :-P Nice article, as always :-)
Perspective is everything! And, thanks! I had fun with this one.
Smith started the labor theory of value and Marx was at the endpoint. This is why political economy became economics when the basis of value had to be changed from labor to marginal utility. (Short Version e.g. their are arguments, equivocations, and a huge number of formulas in the longer version see also subjectivty versus objective theories of value)
Agree, VERY short version! I didn't even touch on this since I knew it would be thorny, but eventually I'd like to cover the labor theory. That was huge, you're right.
Just on the Declaration of Independence, there is a school of thought that it was based on the Declaration of Arbroath from 1320 which demanded Scotland be freed from the yoke of the English king. Of course, in that document, they still wanted a king, just a different one 😁
Nice detail! I might also add: the Magna Carta made the whole concept possible, too. And, like the Declaration, it was for really rich people, not "everyone" as kind of assumed by regular folks alive today. Still, it was a good acorn to plant!
This is a cool way to think about 1776! I never knew Adam Smith's book was such a big deal. Maybe having a strong economy is just as important as being free to choose your leaders.
I might look at it a little differently, although that's certainly not wrong. If I can choose my leaders, but my family starves to death, that's no good. however, I think the freedom to choose how much you spend on things and sell things for, and the freedom to move money around is right up there with the freedom to choose our leaders. Both represent individual freedom in different ways.
Landowners, not landon
I'll never look at another episode of "Little House on the Prairie" the same way again.
I agree that The Wealth of Nations was a game changer, and government by markets made my life possible. Prior to capitalism, people were born into a certain class and remained in that class no matter what. Capitalism allowed for meritocracy, and meritocracy has been very good for me. The problem is that it leaves some people out. The “merit” we measure is not equally distributed. That’s where the Declaration comes into play: all people are of equal moral worth irrespective of their talents. (Obviously, we’ve expanded the document’s meaning. The Founders meant all white male Landon, whereas we now include everyone at least in theory.
Yes, 100%. Governments need to use capitalism as a tool and not overdo it, but we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater! The useful parts are incredible.