Spontaneous Order
15 October 2006
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
David Brooks correctly notes that morality is a social phenomenon ("A Moral Philosophy for Middle-Class America," October 15). But when he writes that government cannot "be neutral on values issues" and that "[i]t's a chimera to believe individuals come up with solutions to moral questions alone" he reveals his mistaken belief that morality must be crafted consciously and centrally.
The same Adam Smith who Brooks praises later in his column famously explained how, while individuals don't come up with solutions to economic questions alone, they nevertheless together do find such solutions as they interact in commercial society. And, Smith showed, not only is government not needed to answer economic questions, its attempts to do so too often misfire. The same is true of morality. The fact that it is social does not mean that it must be created by government.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
David Brooks correctly notes that morality is a social phenomenon ("A Moral Philosophy for Middle-Class America," October 15). But when he writes that government cannot "be neutral on values issues" and that "[i]t's a chimera to believe individuals come up with solutions to moral questions alone" he reveals his mistaken belief that morality must be crafted consciously and centrally.
The same Adam Smith who Brooks praises later in his column famously explained how, while individuals don't come up with solutions to economic questions alone, they nevertheless together do find such solutions as they interact in commercial society. And, Smith showed, not only is government not needed to answer economic questions, its attempts to do so too often misfire. The same is true of morality. The fact that it is social does not mean that it must be created by government.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Saturday June 2, 2007 at 3:51pm