Self Command Quotes

“Gregg: What do you think is the most significant thing that people of faith can offer to the world of economic science?
Smith: It’s that virtue must be part of the way we approach everything. In Adam Smith, virtue was self-command. That idea is that in maturation, people are always marking. When we cross their space, they are marking to us what they resent or the things that they like. We learn, then, these forms of virtue that all have Christian roots. In a time of chaos and violence and evil the ultimate answers to our society’s problems must come down to individuals and their moral responsibilities. Yes, it is important that there are rules of society and that our laws be consistent with that, but law only works if you enforce it. But there is no way you can enforce everything. The nice thing about a country like the United States is that you can still pick up a newspaper form in front of the drug store before the store opens and just leave the money for it: You can go to a farm vegetable stand when no one is there, see the vegetables with the prices, take your vegetables and leave your money. That’s self-command.”
― Vernon L. Smith, The Evidence of Things Not Seen: Reflections on Faith, Science, and Economics