Search results for ""author russ roberts""

What caused the Financial Crisis of 2008? While government mandates and private sector mistakes did contribute to the crisis and can be blamed at least in part for what happened, this book takes a different approach. Russ Roberts argues that the true underlying cause of the mess was the past bailouts of large financial institutions that allowed these institutions to gamble carelessly because they were effectively using other people's money.The author warns that despite the passage of Dodd-Frank, it is widely believed that we have done nothing to eliminate 'Too Big to Fail.' That perception allows the largest financial institutions to continue to gamble with taxpayer money.

Read more less

'A fun, fascinating, and original book that will challenge you to become a better version of yourself'Daniel H. Pink, author of DriveWhat does it take to be truly happy? Should we pursue fame and fortune or the respect of our friends and family? How can we make the world a better place? Two hundred and fifty years ago, Adam Smith addressed these fundamental questions in his life-long project, The Theory of Modern Sentiments.Dwarfed by the success of Smith's masterpiece The Wealth of Nations, The Theory of Modern Sentiments has been virtually forgotten. But when Russ Roberts finally picked up the epic tome, he realized he'd stumbled upon the greatest self-help book that almost no one has read.In How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life, Rob­erts reinvigorates the neglected classic to unearth a treasure trove of timeless, practical wisdom that cuts to the core of what it means to be human. It will challenge you to think about the way you treat others, the decisions you make in pursuit of happiness, and your place in the world.

Read more less

"A 'wrong' family moment that is full of truth." Like seventeenth century Dutch painters who made otherwise ordinary interior scenes appear charged with meaning, Jessica Todd Harper looks for the worth in everyday moments. The characters in her imagery are the people around her- her friends, herself, family- but it is not so much they who are important as the way in which they are organized and lit. A woman helping her child practice the piano is not a particularly sacred moment but as in a Vermeer painting, the way the composition and lighting influence the content suggests that perhaps it is.Most of the time everyday scenes don’t mean anything to us- in fact, it is a modern truism that we seek to be distracted from them. We scroll through our phones rather than be alone with our thoughts, our selves or even our families. This collection of photographs makes use of what is right in front of me, what is here, a place that many of us came to contemplate especially during the pandemic. Beauty, goodness and truth can reveal themselves in daily life, much like in Kant’s notion of the Sublime or simply in the Dutch paintings of everyday domestic scenes that are somehow lit up with purport. Our unexamined or even boring surroundings can sometimes be illuminating.

Read more less