Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Another LRC Reader In The "Mainstream Media". Joseph Galloway, of Knight-Ridder, in the Miami Herald. Header: "Neocons want someone else blamed for their Iraqi war."... By Christopher Manion. [LewRockwell.com Blog] I can't read the article (it requires registration), but I will note that when it comes to war reporting, Joseph Galloway is not "mainstream." 2:02:25 PM    comment () Merchants and soldiers. Napoleon famously sneered at Britain as "a nation of shop-keepers." Adam Smith had described them a nation whose government was... [Adam Smith Institute Blog] Where soldiers marched they left death and destruction in their wake. Their testament was burned villages and the field of corpses. Their glory left shattered lives. Where merchants passed they left wealth. They enabled communities to endure hard times and to add to lifeâs comforts. They enabled people to aspire to better things than survival, and brought the flavour of exotic things into the lives of people who would never travel themselves. Merchants generated the surplus wealth which enabled the arts and architecture to prosper. They created the means whereby scholars and writers could earn a livelihood. If one looks at the advancements and improvements of humankind, only a tiny fraction is owed to soldiers. The great volume of human achievement is down to the merchants. They have left the world a better place. Perhaps it is time to shift our emphasis, and to write histories which honour the merchants and the qualities which put them at humanityâs service. 10:35:40 AM    comment ()

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