Friday, January 9, 2015

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

Adam Smith is well-known as a promoter of specialization and trade and the coining of the phrase "The Invisible Hand". But upon reading How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life, I recognize that the fact that these ideas were discovered by Smith was no fluke. Smith was a student of human behaviour and a very wise one at that.

It makes sense in retrospect. To be able to derive the best way in which a society should function as Smith did as an economist, he first had to have a very good understanding of human nature. In his less famous works, Smith deeply explored the question of what makes humans happy, and he offers a lot of good insights as told by Russ Roberts.

I'm not sure the book will change my life, but it did offer me some guidance in what paths I should take in order to maximize my happiness. Hint: it has very little to do with money. This is not a book on business, exactly. Instead, it offers some wisdom from someone who is likely one of the smartest people who ever lived.

Enjoy!

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