Adam Smith Is a Strong Believer in Self Interest

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Hobbs thinks we're fundamentally egoists, a first. Adam smith certainly is a strong believer an self interest. Certainly believes we have a tendency to put ourselves first. Is famous example of the person who hears about the loss of millions of lives in china due to a natural catastrophe and can sleep like a baby.

Physician and careful reader Richard Gunderman of Indiana University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about how Adam Smith and Leo Tolstoy looked at greed. Drawing on Tolstoy's short story, "Master and Man," and adding some Thomas Hobbes along the way, Gunderman argues that a life well-lived requires us to rise above our lower desires. Join Gunderman and Roberts for a sleigh ride into a snowy blizzard, where you won't find your way by following rules, but rather by recognizing what needs to be seen.