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Wendell Berry And Adam Smith

Decent Essays

Wendell Berry expands on a fundamental point from Adam Smith’s work The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which is also reflected in his work, The Wealth of Nations. That point is the concept of sympathy and why humans experience it and how it impacts our society and economy. Berry discusses sympathy in his lecture and concludes that sympathy is found in a certain type of person and that sympathy is based on a connection to one’s surroundings. Berry and Smith both share a similar understanding of human nature and what values are the best for individuals and society. Both Berry and Smith believe a society’s strength comes from an individual’s value of community and respect for others.
The unique difference between Berry and Smith’s work is that Smith …show more content…

Smith and Berry both realize the importance of sympathy in building a strong community. Smith believes sympathy although helpful to a community, is self-interested. While Berry believes sympathy comes from feeling connected to one’s location and community.
Smith argues in both Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations that humans are naturally sympathetic to one another, and this sympathy comes from, an individual's desire to have a happy community, therefore seeing others in a bad situation brings us down while seeing others in a positive situation improves our mood. Smith also labels the ideal individual for a successful society and economy as the prudent man, meaning a person who stays within his financial means and is not an extreme risk taker, he is happy with his living situation and is honest, and he has no anxiety to …show more content…

Berry also discusses sympathy in his lecture “By that local experience we see the need to grant a sort of preemptive sympathy to all the fellow members, the neighbors, with whom we share the world,” (Berry 3). Like Smith, Berry also sees how personal virtues impact the economy, “As imagination enables sympathy, sympathy enables affection. And it is affection that we find the possibility of a neighborly, kind, and conserving economy,” (Berry 3).
These two men are connected through their idea of human virtues and caring for others around you and how that caring Berry’s argument seems to strengthen Smith's, by providing evidence from other intelligent thinkers and by providing anecdotal proof of his concept of stickers. He compares the life of his grandfather, who lived a modest life, with the life of James B. Duke, who lived a much more prosperous, but not necessarily pleasurable.
Berry says the strength in an economy based on stickers is much more stable and natural. Smith also believes that steady growth is necessary for a healthy society and a strong government. However where Berry contrasts from Smith is when he defines a successful economy one that is sustainable and has an emphasis on protecting nature.
Both Berry and Smith seem to agree on the virtuous middle class. Berry in particular frowns on the super rich, when they achieved their wealth with Boomer values.

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