Search Results for: theory of primate sentiments

The Theory of Primate Sentiments: Part Three

Posted on November 27, 2006 by Nicholas Gruen

Here is the last post on primate sentiments – and as I said at the end of the last post, it’s really a postscript. It doesn’t further develop the points made in the last two posts, but tidies up some … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, History, Life, Philosophy | 5 Comments

The Theory of Primate Sentiments: Part Two

Posted on November 19, 2006 by Nicholas Gruen

The story so far. Robin Dunbar is arguing that language developed amongst apes as something that could replace grooming in facilitating larger social groups than could be supported by grooming. Adam Smith is lurking in the background with the promise … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Ethics, History, Philosophy, Political theory | 7 Comments

The Theory of Primate Sentiments: Part One.

Posted on November 16, 2006 by Nicholas Gruen

I’ve just finished reading a book entitled “Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language“ (Amazon link – but no pages to view) by Robin Dunbar a 1996 book written in a highly entertaining style for a lay audience. In my … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Education, Ethics, History | 9 Comments

The Theory of Moral Sentiments: Happy 250th birthday

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Nicholas Gruen

Herewith my column in today’s SMH, replacing Ross Gittins as you eat your Weeties. Thanks as ever to James Farrell for reading an earlier draft and making suggestions – something he does and I fail to acknolwedge on many columns. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | 5 Comments

Culture and language as public goods

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Nicholas Gruen

Herewith a weekend half-hour read. Comments and corrections appreciated. A culture survives principally, I think, by the power of its institutions to bind and loose men in the conduct of their affairs with reasons that sink so deep into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Public and Private Goods | 6 Comments

What economic reform thinking might have looked like – if we’d bothered to do it. Me and Martin Wolf

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Nicholas Gruen

I have posted this talk previously, but can now post the transcript, worked up from a YouTube transcript with thanks to Shruti Sekar for editing it. You can download the slides to which I was speaking from this link. There’s also a written … Continue reading →

Posted in Best From Elsewhere, Economics and public policy, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Public and Private Goods | 1 Comment

The social world as a nested ecology of public and private goods: Part Two

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

Part Two of my essay on the way of looking at the world I’ve worked out over the last few years and published on Evonomics can be found here. So many years, so few words :( Part one of this essay showed how two dimensions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Information, Innovation, Public and Private Goods, Web and Government 2.0 | 2 Comments