In Part I, Section III, Chapter 3, Smith talks about how we as people view both the rich, and the wise, both the same and differently at the same time. "The respect which we feel for wisdom and virtue is, no doubt, different from that which we conceive for wealth and greatness;...But, notwithstanding this difference, those sentiments bear a very considerable resemblance to one another." (I.III.30). Smith, in the previous paragraph
notes that as a population, it is "but a small party, who are the real and steady admirers of wisdom and virtue. The great mob of mankind are the admirers and worshippers, of wealth and greatness." (I.III.29)
Do you guys think that that last quote by Smith can be applied to today's society? To me, I think our society continues to "worship" wealth and (supposed) greatness over wisdom and virtue. Reality TV shows, which can contain a lot of glitz and glamour, are usually more popular and more watched then a lot of educational programs or news programs that are on TV. A lot of Americans seem to know more about what is happening in pop culture then what is happening in scientific or political news. Also, I wonder if you guys think in some ways this country tries to combine the two groups whenever possible. I look at certain politicians who, while they may or may not by "wise", seem to come into power due to their wealth and their celebrity (like Schwarzenegger).
I agree that in a lot of ways it seems that in America at least people who are wealthy are a lot more well known or praised than people who are determined to be wise. I wonder if one of the reasons for this is that it seems easier to relate to people who are wealthy than people who are wise. Wealth can be made through a number of ways but that can include inheritance, or the lottery where as wisdom is something that a person either possess or doesn't. Its easier to see ourselves suddenly become rich like the people we see on tv than to envision ourselves suddenly becoming wise and therefore its easier to relate to and follow and feel connected to the wealthy people as opposed to the rich for many people
ReplyDeleteI also had the same connections as you when reading this chapter. It seems pretty obvious that society continues to look up to the wealthy and neglect individuals whose fame is more virtue based. Reading further into the chapter on page 76-77 Smith states that “It is from our disposition to admire, and consequently to imitate, the rich and the great, that they are enabled to set, or to lead what is called fashion”. Smith furthers claims that attempts by men to appear rich will “soon reduce him to beggary…” All of which completely reminds me of societies consumer culture and use/abuse of money/credit cards and debt.
ReplyDeleteAnother quote on page 77 that sticks out to me is: “To attain to this envied situation, the candidates for fortune too frequently abandon the paths of virtue; for unhappily, the road which leads to one, and that which leads to the other, lie sometimes in very opposite directions.” Here I think back to the basic “smart girl” vs. “pretty girl” situation that still unfortunately exists.
All in all, this chapter makes me think about the quality of society, and how attraction to purely just the character of wealth and glamor signals a disgraceful society, and attraction to virtue more along the lines of a dignified one, in my opinion.
I would think these statements are true in many countries. If I say the name Alan Turing nobody knows who he is, but if I say James Dean most people know who I'm talking about. People just naturally like their entertainment and that comes as no surprise. Reading this particular section, I wonder how long this mindset has been true. We know that people of wisdom have been valued in societies, but have they been more valued than people with wealth or greatness? In Today's world, as both of you pointed out, it comes as no surprise that wealth and greatness is valued more. However when thinking about the past, one can argue either way.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting observation. Trying to combine the admiration of wealth and that of wisdom seems a very dangerous road. For the most part, I like to think that rich people consider themselves wise because of their material riches and new found glory. Using public image and relations to try and convince others of this is the tricky part, and indeed some are taken in. The difference between wealth and riches here seems appropriate. Wealthy people you won't often find boasting publicly of their wealth, just rich people, I mean, 2 Chainz apparently has, "Racks on racks on racks." (For all I know that reference isn't even about money....but I'm pretty sure it is). But, in defense of watching trash TV, because occasionally I have to watch a little reality TV to get a grip on what some people are absorbing (and it's fun), I'd like to say that knowing about certain aspects of society is better than being in the dark about them. Where people are going to get their entertainment and their education are different places, sometimes they are confused, and it's impossible to gain to new knowledge without simultaneously being educated, but I think it's important that people know that most people aren't going to Kim Kardashian for investment advice. Nor are they looking to other reality TV stars for moral guidance or financial tips. Where our information comes from is important and what we do with information once we have it is also important. Smith would say that attempting to look rich will only make you poor and while we can see a great portion of America tries to look rich, a significantly smaller portion tries to look stupid (hopefully).
ReplyDeleteI understood Smith's concept of sympathy as a means in which society can be guided towards identifying the best traits within individuals, and in doing so avoid worshiping traits that aren't "holistic". I think there can be a healthy respect for the rich, because there are undoubtably members of the upperclass who worked extremely hard to achieve their successes and have used them to give back (i.e. Bill Gates), but obviously its easy to fall into a path of imitation. I think Smith is promoting the idea of finding the underlying traits that guide the actions of individuals and, instead of trying to mimic the actions themselves, mimic the positive attributes and apply them to your own life in whatever ways you can.
ReplyDeleteOf course this can be applied to today's society. However, this problem has been going on for quiet a while. In the 80's, people worshiped Donald Trump for his rise to fame and fortune. After his success, he would later be come a celebrity and later a Hollywood icon. It is quite depressing to think about, knowing that this is what has become of society. People would rather praise the Kardashians as opposed to the hardworking and knowledgeable professor. To sum it up, as a society, we view success (financial or fame) = wisdom.
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