"Though he admires the animal he eventually acquires (a beautiful goat), he didn’t get it because he wanted the goat for its own sake, but for the prestige it brings him." Angela, I'm wondering if you noticed the connection here with Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments: Smith develops at length that most of the labors people undertake are done not for the intrinsic utility of the money or good acquired thereby, but to gain the sympathy, attention, fellow-feeling of others who observe one's acquisition of these things. Just a thought! (And a suggestion to explore TMS if you haven't yet had the pleasure of doing so)
I haven't yet read TMS! In the line you're referring to, I had in mind Rand's concept of secondhandedness, perhaps best encapsulated in the quote from the Fountainhead (about Peter Keating): "What was his aim in life? Greatness–in other people’s eyes. Fame, admiration, envy–all that which comes from others. Others dictated his convictions, which he did not hold, but he was satisfied that others believed he held them. Others were his motive power and his prime concern. He didn’t want to be great, but to be thought great. He didn’t want to build, but to be admired as a builder. He borrowed from others in order to make an impression on others.”
Rand explicitly condemns this kind of behavior; does Smith? Or is it just an observation, not a prescription?
I am no Smith scholar, but I believe I am adequately educated enough to offer a tentative opinion: Smith recognizes that vanity—the desire to be well-regarded by your fellow man—in a virtuous society inspires men to virtue. Importantly, it inspires even those to virtuous behavior who are otherwise not/insufficiently drawn to virtue for its own sake. However, like Rand, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and virtually every other moral philosopher, Smith regards the truly virtuous man as the one who does good out of love of the good per se, in and of itself. Theory of Moral Sentiments, though long, is an incredibly fast-paced read. If I had to choose one work most important to classical liberals, it would be TMS.
"Though he admires the animal he eventually acquires (a beautiful goat), he didn’t get it because he wanted the goat for its own sake, but for the prestige it brings him." Angela, I'm wondering if you noticed the connection here with Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments: Smith develops at length that most of the labors people undertake are done not for the intrinsic utility of the money or good acquired thereby, but to gain the sympathy, attention, fellow-feeling of others who observe one's acquisition of these things. Just a thought! (And a suggestion to explore TMS if you haven't yet had the pleasure of doing so)
I haven't yet read TMS! In the line you're referring to, I had in mind Rand's concept of secondhandedness, perhaps best encapsulated in the quote from the Fountainhead (about Peter Keating): "What was his aim in life? Greatness–in other people’s eyes. Fame, admiration, envy–all that which comes from others. Others dictated his convictions, which he did not hold, but he was satisfied that others believed he held them. Others were his motive power and his prime concern. He didn’t want to be great, but to be thought great. He didn’t want to build, but to be admired as a builder. He borrowed from others in order to make an impression on others.”
Rand explicitly condemns this kind of behavior; does Smith? Or is it just an observation, not a prescription?
I am no Smith scholar, but I believe I am adequately educated enough to offer a tentative opinion: Smith recognizes that vanity—the desire to be well-regarded by your fellow man—in a virtuous society inspires men to virtue. Importantly, it inspires even those to virtuous behavior who are otherwise not/insufficiently drawn to virtue for its own sake. However, like Rand, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and virtually every other moral philosopher, Smith regards the truly virtuous man as the one who does good out of love of the good per se, in and of itself. Theory of Moral Sentiments, though long, is an incredibly fast-paced read. If I had to choose one work most important to classical liberals, it would be TMS.