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Showing posts from June, 2008

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曾经看过一篇写有关“窗与门”的散文,大概意思就是说,门是“自我的产生”也是“人与人的隔膜”,而窗则是“人渴望与外界交流”的象征。

Adam Smith on Poverty

Gavin Kennedy finds Don Arthur at Club Troppo asking "What if Adam Smith was Right about Poverty?" This relates to the idea often heard in debates about poverty that since the material well-being of the poor has increased over time, there's no need to worry about inequality: Adam Smith on Poverty, by Gavin Kennedy: A post by Don Arthur in the Australian Blog, Club Troppo, (here) which has been quoted on Lost Legacy in the past when I referred to articles by Nicholas Gruen, opens an interesting and important discussion on poverty in societies and Adam Smith’s expressed view on the issue. I only quote some parts of it, and I have deleted several excellent references and discussions of recent work by academics on related matters. Check the link and read them for yourself: What if Adam Smith was right about poverty? Don Arthur, June 22: Well-being isn’t just about our relationship with things, it’s also about our relationships with each other. Poverty hurts, not just ...

眼神

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The Wrong Kind of Bubbles

“Don’t look, Edward.” The instruction came from Elizabeth, directed at her youngest son. We were driving through the Bois de Boulogne, a notorious hangout of extravagant prostitutes. “Besides, they’re not what you think they are. They’re disgraceful. Sordid. Some of them are men dressed up as women.” Of course, Edward craned his neck to look even harder. And so do we crane our necks today...to take a better look at a counterfeit. That is also what makes financial history so entertaining, after all; it is like the Bois de Boulogne – full of jackasses and imposters. Alan Greenspan will go down in it, of that we are certain. He will be remembered as the greatest central banker since John Law. Mr. Law invented modern financial bubbles. Dr. Greenspan perfected them. In the early 18th century, John Law was on the lam in France, after having killed Beau Wilson in a duel in England. France was broke, thanks to the grandiose spending of Louis 14th. A clever rake, Law proposed to solve the Regen...