The Smith Conversations 1 of 5 – Smith on Inequality

On 9th March 1776, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations was published in London.

When he was writing, he was one of many brilliant people in Scotland whose arguments and debates shaped the progress of knowledge. He could test his ideas in conversations at supper clubs across Edinburgh.

In that spirit, the Library of Mistakes is holding five conversations between 9th and 13th March, all of them starting at 6.30 p.m. They’ll be on topics which mattered to Smith, but there’ll be no looking back. These conversations will be about why Smith’s concerns still matter. And they’ll look forward, exploring what we should be doing now.

Smith on Inequality

Income and wealth are a good place for the discussion to start. To explain where income and wealth come from – and where they end up – Adam Smith talked about why it is that people put different values on goods and how those values affect wages, dividends and rents.

This first conversation picks up on widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the economy. It will ask why it is that in a world of unparalleled production capabilities, people do not feel the opulence – the key to Adam Smith’s thinking about well-being.

Going ‘beyond GDP’ it will explore what it is that people which they are not getting from the economy just now. It will debate the assumption that greater national income will naturally lead to greater well-being.

The conversation will start with insights from the Social Progress Initiative’s attempts to develop broader measures of well-being and the Carnegie UK Trust’s Life in the UK reports on collective well-being, the conversation will also touch on the design of public services and the role of communities in wealth building.

Chair – Lesley Martin, Cockburn Association

Participants – Michael Green, CEO, Social Progress Imperative
Stuart Mackinnon, Head of Communications and Advocacy, Carnegie UK Trust
Neil McInroy, Chair, Economic Development Association Scotland
Esther Roberton, Chair of Court, University of Dundee

Wealth – Tuesday 10th March
Capitalism – Wednesday 11th March
Power – Thursday 12th March
Education – Friday 13th March

Info: Please ensure you arrive no later than 18:25 as latecomers may not be admitted once the event has commenced.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Library of Mistakes, 33A Melville Street Lane, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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