Richard Gunderman on Greed, Adam Smith, and Leo Tolstoy

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4.7 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2022

⏱️ 65 minutes

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Summary

Physician and careful reader Richard Gunderman of Indiana University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about how Adam Smith and Leo Tolstoy looked at greed. Drawing on Tolstoy's short story, "Master and Man," and adding some Thomas Hobbes along the way, Gunderman argues that a life well-lived requires us to rise above our lower desires. Join Gunderman and Roberts for a sleigh ride into a snowy blizzard, where you won't find your way by following rules, but rather by recognizing what needs to be seen.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, Conversations for the Curious, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:07.8	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover
0:12.7	Institution.
0:13.7	Go to econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this episode and find links down
0:18.6	the information related to today's conversation.
0:21.4	You'll also find our archives, but every episode we've done going back to 2006.
0:26.8	Our email address is mail at econtalk.org.
0:30.3	We'd love to hear from you.
0:32.3	Today is March 9, 2022 and my guest is Richard Gunderman.
0:41.9	He is Chancellor's Professor of Radiology, Pediatrics, Medical Education, Philosophy, Liberal
0:47.9	Arts, Philanthropy, and Medical Humanities and Health Studies at Indiana University.
0:54.8	Richard, welcome to econ talk.
0:56.8	So, what's your to be with you?
0:58.8	Our topic for today is greed.
1:01.9	As seen through the work of Adam Smith and Leo Tolstoy with some Hobbes thrown in.
1:07.6	I want to start with the Tolstoy story that you focus on in your essay, Master and Man.
1:13.8	And before I begin, for listeners, if you haven't read the story yet, please do before you
1:19.4	go any longer on this episode.
1:22.8	You can just hit pause if you can.
1:24.6	The story is a masterpiece.
1:25.6	You can only read it once without knowing how it's going to turn out.
1:28.4	So consider browsing and reading the story.
	...

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