Ross Levine wrote a series of imagined letters from Adam Smith’s perspective.
Why do we work so hard even after many of us have met our survival needs? Often it’s because we believe wealth brings admiration and approval from others. But admiration from others is fickle and not a source of lasting happiness.
What we really crave is to be worthy of admiration: “The love of praise seeks the opinions of others. The love of praiseworthiness seeks inner integrity.”
We should direct our ambition toward becoming worthy of our inner judge: “True satisfaction comes not from wealth, titles, accolades, or applause, but from acting in harmony with the impartial spectator’s standards.”
Back in university, I read several biographies of Adam Smith, along with his books and lectures, and came to admire his broad range of intellectual interests and his insights into human psychology. He and David Hume would be among my top choices for dinner companions.
PS: There’s a musical based on Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. Here’s a Freakonomics podcast interview with its composer, David Lang.
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