“Vanity is as advantageous to a government as pride is dangerous. To be convinced of this we need only represent, on the one hand,the numberless benefits which result from vanity, as industry, the arts, fashions, politeness, and taste; and on the other, the infinite evils which spring from the pride of certain nations, a laziness, poverty, a total neglect of everything.” NeedsArtHandsGovernmentCertainEvilNationsResultsPovertyFashionDangerousPrideIndustryTasteBenefitsSpringInfiniteConvincedVanityNeglectLazinessPoliteness Author:Baron de Montesquieu
“The key insight of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is misleadingly simple: if an exchange between two parties is voluntary, it will not take place unless both believe they will benefit from it. Most economic fallacies derive from the neglect of this simple insight, from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.” IfsBelieveTwoNationsWealthSimplePartyEconomicKeysBenefitsGainsAssumingInsightLibertarianTendenciesFixedNeglectExpensesAdamPieFree MarketFallacyWealth Of Nations Book:Free to Choose: A Personal Statement Source: Free to Choose: A Personal Statement