by Rick Lowe

Most people with a fleeting interest in economics has a copy of Adam Smith’s, Wealth of Nations. How many of us have slogged through the entire thing, is an other question.

Don’t despair though, P.J. O’Rourke, political satirist, has reportedly read every page of the The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments so we don’t have to, and has released a new book titled P.J. O’Rourke On The Wealth of Nations.

Here is a quote of some classic O’Rourke work in yet another great book by him:

“The Theory of Moral Sentiments is about the neighbor. The Wealth of Nations is about the other side of the equation, ourselves.”

“It is assumed, apparently at the highest level of divinity, that we should care about ourselves. And logically we need to. In Moral Sentiments, Smith insisted, paraphrasing Zeno, that each of us “is first an principally recommended to his own care”, and “endowed with the principle of self-love.” A broke, naked hungry, and self-loathing me is of no use to anyone in the neighborhood. In Wealth, Smith insisted that in order to take care of ourselves we must be free to do so. The Theory of Moral Sentiments shows us how the imagination can make us care about other people. The Wealth of Nations shows us how the imagination can make us dinner and a pair of pants.”

Don’t miss this enjoyable and educational read.