Daniel B. Klein
Contributor
Daniel Klein is professor of economics and JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he leads a program in Adam Smith, and author of Smithian Morals.
He is also associate fellow at the Ratio Institute (Stockholm), research fellow at the Independent Institute, and chief editor of Econ Journal Watch.
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Does Winning High Office Signal Low Virtue?
Dishonest, unethical, and ignorant people tend to be rewarded with political power. We should keep trying, anyway.
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When Liberal Became a Political Adjective
“Before the 1770s, liberal meant generous, munificent, as in “with a liberal hand,” or tolerant and befitting a free man, as in liberal arts and liberal sciences. Those meanings were not political.” ~Daniel Klein
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Adam Smith’s Great Power Politics in One Paragraph
“It is said that an armed society is a polite society. Smith, by analogy, suggests that an international cosmos of armed nations will be a polite international cosmos.” ~Daniel B. Klein
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Happy 300th, Adam Smith!
“He really did help to establish a presumption of liberty—that is, ‘allowing every man to pursue his own interest his own way’ as a presumption.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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James Lindsay and a Friendly Point of Criticism
“Marx should be seen as but one—historically salient, to be sure—irresponsible human indulging perennial mentalities and bents that deny modern realities.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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The Calling of Classical Liberal Researchers: Remind Your Neighbor
“Classical liberals who lead research endeavors need to persuade not only fellow researchers, but the audience of the research, including the anti-liberal minefield of academia.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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Happy 2023: Adam and God
“What is the place of God in our ethics? What is our nature? What is our civilization? Which way is up? The Smith tercentenary is a special opportunity to come together in Adam Smith.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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The Governmentalization of Social Affairs
“More liberty means less government, and less government means less miserableness, servility, fickleness, hypocrisy, denial, mendacity, baseness, and degeneracy. Liberal backbone checks the evil that is the governmentalization of social affairs.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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A Foreword to Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments
“Admirers of The Theory of Moral Sentiments range across academic and scholarly fields and disciplines, across countries and continents, and, most remarkably, across landscapes of political ideology.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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Essential Words In- And Not In- Adam Smith’s Essential Works
“Don’t leave TMS behind when reading WN. Intricate souls the actors in WN surely are. What, after all, is the inner substance of the wealth of nations?” ~ Caleb Petitt & Daniel B. Klein
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•
Does Winning High Office Signal Low Virtue?
Dishonest, unethical, and ignorant people tend to be rewarded with political power. We should keep trying, anyway.
-
•
When Liberal Became a Political Adjective
“Before the 1770s, liberal meant generous, munificent, as in “with a liberal hand,” or tolerant and befitting a free man, as in liberal arts and liberal sciences. Those meanings were not political.” ~Daniel Klein
-
•
Adam Smith’s Great Power Politics in One Paragraph
“It is said that an armed society is a polite society. Smith, by analogy, suggests that an international cosmos of armed nations will be a polite international cosmos.” ~Daniel B. Klein
-
•
Happy 300th, Adam Smith!
“He really did help to establish a presumption of liberty—that is, ‘allowing every man to pursue his own interest his own way’ as a presumption.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
-
•
James Lindsay and a Friendly Point of Criticism
“Marx should be seen as but one—historically salient, to be sure—irresponsible human indulging perennial mentalities and bents that deny modern realities.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
-
•
The Calling of Classical Liberal Researchers: Remind Your Neighbor
“Classical liberals who lead research endeavors need to persuade not only fellow researchers, but the audience of the research, including the anti-liberal minefield of academia.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
-
•
Happy 2023: Adam and God
“What is the place of God in our ethics? What is our nature? What is our civilization? Which way is up? The Smith tercentenary is a special opportunity to come together in Adam Smith.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
-
•
The Governmentalization of Social Affairs
“More liberty means less government, and less government means less miserableness, servility, fickleness, hypocrisy, denial, mendacity, baseness, and degeneracy. Liberal backbone checks the evil that is the governmentalization of social affairs.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
-
•
A Foreword to Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments
“Admirers of The Theory of Moral Sentiments range across academic and scholarly fields and disciplines, across countries and continents, and, most remarkably, across landscapes of political ideology.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
-
•
Essential Words In- And Not In- Adam Smith’s Essential Works
“Don’t leave TMS behind when reading WN. Intricate souls the actors in WN surely are. What, after all, is the inner substance of the wealth of nations?” ~ Caleb Petitt & Daniel B. Klein