“ An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations , which Smith published in 1776, is the most important book ever written about capitalism and its moral ramifications. Though The Wealth of Nations is in good… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“To us, the argument for material well-being might seem uncontroversial. But in the eighteenth century, material prosperity was frequently condemned as "luxury" by religious and civic moralists. It was not a morally neutral word but a pejorative one, connoting not… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“It was in the eighteenth century that England became what (Adam) Smith called "a nation of shopkeepers".... (p. 58)” — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“ An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations , which Smith published in 1776, is the most important book… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“To realize the Enlightenment ideals of formal equality, the rule of law, freedom of commerce, and religious toleration, Voltaire and many of the other… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“While the Christian and civic traditions were intrinsically suspicious of commerce, the Roman civil law was not. Rediscovered in the revival of learning in… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“In the sixteenth century the unity of western European Christendom had been shattered by the rise of Protestantism in its various strands (Lutheran, Calvinist,… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“Most people in the Great Britain of (Adam) Smith's day lived in what most of us would regard as poverty. Hundreds of thousands were… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“The majority of any society comprised, Smith knew, not landlords or merchants, but "servants, laborers, and workmen of different kinds," who derived their income… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“Yet despite...accommodations with commerce, Möser regarded the market as primarily a threat--to the artisanal citizens of the town, to the traditional wants of the… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“For Burke, almost everything that makes life worthwhile is a result of society, its inherited codes, knowledge, and institutions. These goods are fragile, and… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“This emphasis on the difference between intentions and ultimate results constituted an implicit critique of the Christian and civic republican traditions, and continues to… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“To us, the argument for material well-being might seem uncontroversial. But in the eighteenth century, material prosperity was frequently condemned as "luxury" by religious… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
“...capitalism is too important and complex a subject to be left to economists. Achieving a critical comprehension of it requires perspectives beyond those characteristic… — Jerry Z. Muller Copy Share Image
