Adam Smith: "We frequently see the respectful attentions of the world more strongly directed towards the rich and the great, than towards the wise and the virtuous. We see frequently the vices and follies of the powerful much less despised than the poverty and weakness of the innocent." (Theory of Moral Sentiments,I.III.29)Stumbling and Mumbling
Mistaking Power For Virtue
Chris Dillow | Investors Chronicle (UK)
Confusion of power and success with wisdom and virtue is a key assumption of an acquisitive society, and it is typified in the philosophy of economic liberalism put forward in the political works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, and Ayn Rand. It also lies at the basis of Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism based on a utility calculus in which the units are expressed in terms of material satisfaction.
Dillow: "One way of correcting this framing is to ask ourselves of a political speech or newspaper article: what would we think of this if it were a blog? I suspect we'd overlook Osborne'sthoughts as juvenile cliches."
Because this view is juvenile, typical of the way adolescents feel.
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