Van Ark

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I doubt any students to the elusive subject of economics have actually read the ingenious masterpiece of Adam Smith - "The Wealth of Nations". I was tempted but, frankly, never have the courage to test out my perseverance in ancient prose - though attracted by the ancient but timeless wisdom. So I was delighted to find "P.J.O'Rourke on The Wealth of Nations" on a bookshelf in a NewLink's book store at Hong Kong International Airport, and did not hesitate for long to buy it.

And it did not take me long to read through it, as I indeed was fascinated by the wise man's wisdom, albeit through the contemporary author's somewhat arbitrary excerpting of cut and paste. His witty interpretation helps, despite all sophomoric jests.

But it took me even sooner to realize how ignorantly wrong it was to think of Adam Smith as all about self-interest. Quite the contrary. It is enlightening to learn that he actually wrote "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" first, in which he explained what morality is and how much it is in man's nature to be interested in the fortune of others.

Perhaps what is most shockingly relevant to our current age of financial fiasco is, quoting P.J.O'Rourke, Adam Smith's "warning against betting too much accumulation and employment of stock on the red-hot housing market":

A dwelling house, as such, contributes nothing to the revenue of its inhabitant...If it is to be let to a tenant for rent, as the house can produce nothing, the tenant must always pay the rent out of some other revenue...Though a house, therefore, may yield revenue to its proprietor...it cannot yield any to the public, nor serve in the function of a capital, and the revenue of the whole body of the people can never be in the smallest degree increased by it.

How prophetic these words from the wise man were, and how portentous they were of the contemporary subprime mortgage crisis, in fact any crisis of house-price bubbles anywhere in history since his time!

But P.J.O'Rourke is correct in suggesting that none of us take the axioms of Adam Smith as givens - even the simple basic principle that economic progress depends on basically the pursuit of self-interest, division of labour and freedom of trade (just witness all the angry anti-WTO protests on TV) - and, for all his ideas' relevance, we quarrel with Adam Smith. Rourke himself wittingly pointed out ample evidence of confusion in Smith's thinking in the areas of price, globalization, taxation, and others to prove his point, of course in pursuit of his self-interest - for fame - but rather craftily: "there is an admitted pleasure in watching someone so much more intellectual than oneself going so intellectually wrong."

Playing devil advocate, perhaps O'Rourke is taking Smith's intelligence too seriously. As much as I am fully convicted of the wise man's wisdom, I also cannot help but imagine that a factor to his greatness has to do with the fact that he was the first person to write comprehensively and informatively on the subject before even it was named as such - economics. But history provides ample examples to prove that the first person who started off doing something might not necessarily ended up being the one doing that thing best after all (Tiger Woods is not a Scotsman). Perhaps people are simply nostalgic about their "first" knowledge or recognizable experience of every kind - empire, industrial revolution, management theory, golf, music...as in first love.

And O'Rourke should blog (that is, if he has not already started doing so.) Not only are his quips, jests and waggish comments fanciful for blogging, he is obviously an intelligent man with much to offer if he will. In his own condescending words: "Freedom of speech is wonderful, if you have anything to say. A search of the blogosphere reveals that hardly anyone does." But as a blog is free for all to read, he may not do it. As in quarreling with Adam Smith, he asked of "gross domestic product" rather cheesily: "I am as grossly domestic as anyone. Where is the product? How come all the goods and services flow out of my income instead of into it?"

As to whether Adam Smith is in heaven or not, O'Rourke should be grateful for running absolutely no risk of being sued for plagiarism, without the slightest chance of falling in the same fate as Steve van der Ark - the guy who wrote a lexicon to Harry Potter.

* Knowledge, as happiness, is for sharing. Please visit: http://evolution-v.blogspot.com/

Travel Amsterdam

Amsterdam, the largest city and the capital of Holland is well known for many contrasting reasons around the globe. The city houses some of the top financial institutions and businesses in Holland, such as Phillips and ING. It is perhaps better known for its unique attractions ranging from the historic canals, the Van Gogh museum to the red light districts and the cannabis coffee shops!

If visiting a cannabis coffee shop is not unique enough for you, try visiting the XtraCold Ice Café. The café is home to over 60,000 kg of ice sculptured by a top local interior designer, so you can chill with an extra cold beer and enjoy the marvellous sculptures. Perhaps one of the most bizarre attractions in Holland is the life size replica of Noah’s Ark. Inspired by a local man's dream that Holland would be partially flooded, the Ark was built and is now open to the public for viewing. Although a strange attraction the Ark, containing life size stuffed and artificial animals, is well worth a look. Perhaps one of the most entertaining attractions in Amsterdam is the Amsterdam Dungeon. The tour takes you on a realistic journey through the dark ages of torture, disease and death. Real life actors are excellent in bringing the tales to life and as well as the gruesome stories a number of rides and displays makes a visit to the Dungeons an all round great experience. A trip to Amsterdam really does have something for everyone and is well worth a visit!

Flights to Amsterdam go from most major European cities so getting there should never be a problem. Cheap flights to Amsterdam are often available depending on the time of year so it is well worth doing your research before booking your flights to Amsterdam.

About the Author

Ian Ramsey is an author in the UK.

Undie 500 theme HELP PLEASE?

I've got a theme party this weekend, which consists with a group of people who dress a vechical(which costs under $500) and dress up aswell, its massive pub crawl down the south island of New Zealand. Any ideas of something funny what we can dress the van up as(in-politically correct always so funny) and what our group does.

Well given the name why not dress the van in underwear of various sorts - what you dress up (down?!) in is then your business!

Nation's job ranks grow by 162,000
BLADE NEWS SERVICES WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy got its best jobs report in three years yesterday as employers added 162,000 jobs in March - a substantial boost itself and a harbinger of more large-scale gains ahead. Encouraging as the Labor Department report was, it wasn't strong enough to bring down the unemployment rate. The jobless figure remained stuck at 9.7 percent for the third month ...

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