About the book
Adam Smith's first major work sets out his account of proper conduct and of the feelings and institutions that make people virtuous. Its central idea is sympathy: through imagination, people share the emotions and even some physical sensations of those they watch, and that shared feeling holds society together in a way neutral rules alone cannot. Smith also introduces the impartial spectator, a hypothetical, disinterested judge whose view helps separate right from wrong. Self-interest remains part of the picture, and in one passage the rich, led by an invisible hand, end up sharing the necessities of life with the poor without meaning to. Published in 1759, it laid the ethical and philosophical groundwork for The Wealth of Nations.
An article titled How to Read Like a President reported that Barack Obama included it on his list alongside The Wealth of Nations. Ryan Holiday called it a very tough read that reveals Smith as a moral and practical philosopher rather than a ruthless economist.
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This book has 2 recommendations
Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)
I was heartily recommend this book by Dr. Drew and since the last book he recommended changed my life as a young man, I did not hesitate to get it. Now this is a tough book, a really tough book, but it is amazing. People think of Adam Smith as being this ruthless economist who studied self-interest but this forgotten book reveals that he was in fact, a great moral and practical philosopher. It is clear to me that Smith was profoundly influenced by the Stoics and by the great classic thinkers of history. Intimidated? Well, good news! It turns out Penguin published a new book this year called How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life by Russ Roberts and it happens to be an eminently accessible access point into Theory of Moral Sentiments. (In fact, I liked both so much, I am buying copies to send as a package to a handful of close friends) I hope you pick up either book and I hope its deep thoughts on the pursuit of fame, of money, and of course, his concept of the “indifferent spectator” to guide your actions, make you think as much as they did for me.
Barack Obama (Former USA President)
Obama, unsurprisingly, appears to be more drawn to stories sympathetic to the working classes than is McCain. Obama cites John Steinbeck’s “In Dubious Battle,” about a labor dispute; Robert Caro’s “Power Broker,” about Robert Moses; and Studs Terkel’s “Working.” But he also includes Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” and “Theory of Moral Sentiments” on his list.
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Often recommended alongside
- The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro (2 shared recommenders)
- The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris (2 shared recommenders)
- Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow (2 shared recommenders)