Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: John Stuart Mill, Justin Bieber, Physiocracy
24 Jul 2016
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Some defenders of democracy claim that no democratic country has ever suffered from: a. economic inequality b. c. famine-- there"s never been a famine in a democratic country with a free press d. Defending individual freedoms to pursue our own economic interests. Mandeville: private vices generate public benefits o. If we encourage people to pursue selfish interests, we can create benefits for everyone. Smith wrote to fight against mercantilism, to change how people think about how the economy works, and to push for a new economic policy in britain. A nation"s wealth lies in not gold/silver or land, but production, the development in production, division of labour. Removing restraints on trade allows everyone a better opportunity to compete: downside: modern tech. reduces the individual worker to an assembly-line functioned. Invisible hand: from self-interest to the public good: what matters is what we actually do and what are the consequences.
