The Montesquieu said that liberty enables us to do what we ought to will. Adam Smith was really optimistic about this because he thought there was an outside force acting to aid us and it was propriety. So our character is the collection of virtues and vices that have become habits. We might cultivate habits of acting in a way that is virtuous, but in any case, we're going to cultivate habits ofacting in ways that are vicious.
Economist and author Michael Munger of Duke University talks about human wants and desires with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Human beings have desires about our desires. Can we change what we want? And how should economists and normal human beings think about doing the right thing, what we often call morality? Is acting morally self-interested behavior or is it possible to act selflessly?