Menard Speaker Series: The Obvious and Simple System of Natural Liberty Its Causes & Consequences
Th., Feb. 26 • 5 p.m. • TC 121
1776 was a momentous year. The United States declared its independence, and Adam Smith published Wealth of Nations. Smith explained what he called “the obvious and simple system of natural liberty,” which dispensed with “all systems either of preference or restraint.” Dr. Carden’s talk will explore the causes and consequences of Smith’s “natural liberty” and see how some of these principles worked out in the independent United States.
Art Carden is Margaret Gage Bush Distinguished Professor of Economics and Director of the Brock Scholars Program at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author of Leave Me Alone and I’ll Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Enriched the World (with Deirdre Nansen McCloskey) and Mere Economics: Lessons For and From the Ordinary Business of Life.
Presented by the Institute for the Study of Political Economy (ISPE). ISPE approaches the study of political economy as an analysis of governance. We examine what it means to have good public and private governance. We analyze which institutions and institutional rules are likely to lead to good governance, and how governance – good and bad — impacts outcomes. We are particularly interested in wealth and income, economic growth, health, freedom and liberty, and quality of life in the American Midwest. In order to positively impact outcomes, we communicate the lessons learned from rigorous academic analysis to students, citizens at large, private organization leadership, and elected and appointed officials.
Upcoming:
Tu., March 17 • 5 p.m. • WB 144: Menard Speaker Series: Dr. David Henderson, Naval Postgraduate School
How Economists Helped End the Draft
Th., April 2 • 5 p.m. • AJ 175: Menard Speaker Series: Vernon Smith, 2002 Nobel Laureate
Theory of Society