February 9, 2010 by Templeton Editor
In the last few months, we have shared what John Templeton thought were five economic vices: envy, greed, pride, intolerance, and moral relativism, as cited in his speech to Buena Vista College entitled “The Religious Foundation of Liberty and Enterprise.” Now we are exploring what he listed as the five economic virtues.
The second economic virtue is that of creativity. This is another word for entrepreneurship. It is the ability to imagine possibilities that have yet to come in to existence.
From the economic point of view, the virtue of creativity is the most important cause of wealth in society. It introduces new goods and services. It helps us to use our resources more effectively. It creates jobs and raises our living standards. It is the key to bringing the world from poverty to prosperity.
Of course, creativity demands the freedom to act. Wherever people are left free to exercise their creative capacities, the wealth of society will grow.
Millions of new businesses appear every year. But where enterprise is hindered, both prosperity and human liberty suffer. The society will stagnate. People will not be able to fulfill the highest potential.
Economic progress is in part driven by both the virtue of creativity and the related virtue of emulation. Success in a market economy comes from improving the degree of efficiency in the way goods, services, and labor are used. And others’ success at this can induce us toward right ambition. It leads us to seek entrepreneurial gain and to fmd better ways of doing things, making us better and more productive members of society.
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February 5, 2010 by Templeton Editor
In the last few months, we have shared what John Templeton thought were five economic vices: envy, greed, pride, intolerance, and moral relativism, as cited in his speech to Buena Vista College entitled “The Religious Foundation of Liberty and Enterprise.” Now we’ll explore his five economic virtues. The first virtue he lists is cooperation.
The first economic virtue is the ability to cooperate. That simply means getting along with others.
Cooperation is not a word we tend to associate with capitalism. Since at least the turn of the century, we have tended to associate capitalism with dog-eat-dog competition. That is a grave error, for the overwhelming amount of activity of capitalism is people cooperating with other people.
Think about our daily activities. Consumers cooperate with producers at every economic exchange, from the local fruit stand to the trading floor at Wall Street. Each person involved in the exchange is giving up something for something of great value. When I spend two dollars for a carton of milk, both the grocer and I come out ahead. That is the virtue of cooperation.
Cooperation is a virtue essential to every economy. Through it, the baker does not need to concern himself with plowing land, sowing seeds, weeding the ground, or cutting, threshing, and milling the wheat. He comes together with others who do that. He need only bake and to offer it to others.
It is one of the virtues of capitalism that it insists on cooperation. If we become more aware of this, and become better at getting along with others, we create a better and more productive economy.
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February 2, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Our exploration of Sir John’s thoughts on spirituality and business continues today with another excerpt from his speech at Buena Vista College entitled “The Religious Foundation of Liberty and Enterprise.” In this excerpt, we’ll look at what he calls the fifth economic vice: moral relativism.
The proper kind of tolerance is closely related to the fifth and last of the economic vices: Moral relativism, that doctrine which argues that we cannot know the difference between right and wrong, vice and virtue, moral and immoral, truth and falsehood. The economic vice of moral relativism says everything is okay, so long as it pleases us.
Yet no vice can be more destructive for society and the economy, especially where people have the freedom to choose right from wrong.
Some businessmen will say the profit motive should determine all. This statement is a version of moral relativism, because it pretends that profit and loss can substitute for right and wrong.
Profit and loss are accounting devices. They callow business to determine whether they are meeting the needs of consumers or not. In that sense, they are invaluable. But profit does not always equal morality, and loss does not always equal immorality.
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January 28, 2010 by Templeton Editor
We will resume our exploration of Sir John’s thoughts on spirituality and business with another excerpt from his speech at Buena Vista College entitled “The Religious Foundation of Liberty and Enterprise.” In this excerpt, we’ll look at the fourth economic vice he describes: intolerance.
If we are to have a free economy, unplanned by prideful government masters, we must learn to respect the diversity that liberty brings about. That brings me to the fourth economic vice: intolerance.
There is another kind of intolerance which can be damaging. Sometimes government will invest itself in one mode of production and display an unwillingness to tolerate others. It may attach itself to one type of social program, but not be willing to consider other innovative solutions to social programs.
The free economy relies on voluntarism. Without compulsion, consumers and businesses come together to make mutually advantageous exchanges. In a voluntary society, we learn to respect the right of people to make independent decisions. We learn to be tolerant of others and their unique decisions. Continue Reading »
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January 27, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Now that National Thrift Week is over, we’re eager to return to our examination of Sir John’s economic virtues and vices from the lecture he delivered at Buena Vista College, but before we do that, we probably ought to do another Link Roundup. The new year seems to have brought a flurry of Templeton name dropping around the web. Here are some highlights:
Posted in News | Tagged Links, Sir John | 1 Comment »
January 21, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Thrift is not only about saving money and making smart purchases, but it is also about generosity. John Templeton’s investing prowess made him billions, which he largely donated to philanthropic ventures.
Here are some of Templeton’s quotes on the generous aspect of thriftiness, taken from his son’s book Thrift and Generosity: The Joy of Giving.
Giving friendship is more important than giving luxuries.
You cannot be lonely if you help the lonely.
Those persons who are on the leading edge of evolution realize . . . that the greatest happiness in life comes, not from the comforts and pleasures that money can buy, but from the investment of the days of our lives in a purpose which transcends our purely personal interests.
If these writings resonate with you be sure to join our campaign to Bring Back National Thrift Week, either by visiting the official website or by becoming a fan on Facebook.
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January 19, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Continuing our January theme of John Templeton’s relationship with thrift, we have more today from step 12 of The Templeton Plan. As this week (January 17 through 23) marks Thrift Week, here are some tips for getting your finances in order. If these writings resonate with you be sure to join our campaign to Bring Back National Thrift Week, either by visiting the official website or by becoming a fan on Facebook.
The practice of conserving your resources to best advantage is a key to the successful and happy life. Answering the following yes-or-no questions should provide you with a clue to your present financial health:
1. Do you save something of every paycheck?
2. Do you make a budget?
3. Do you live within your budget?
4. Are you investing wisely by buying assets that protect you against inflation?
5. Do you search for bargains in small items, such as toothpaste and soap, as well as big ones like furniture and automobiles?
6. Do you weigh each purchase carefully rather than buy on impulse?
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January 14, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Continuing our January theme of John Templeton’s relationship with thrift, we have more today from step 12 of The Templeton Plan. Today we look at some interesting facts and figures about his lifestyle during the early stages of his Wall Street career. They clearly show a man who ardently adhered to a philosophy of thrift. If these writings resonate with you be sure to join our campaign to Bring Back National Thrift Week, either by visiting the official website or by becoming a fan on Facebook.
Some sample habits and behaviors mentioned in The Templeton Plan:
- He and his wife made a habit of never spending more than $0.50 on dinner for two (about $6.00 by today’s standards, according to DollarTimes).
- He committed himself to spending less that 16% of his spendable annual income on housing costs.
- He and his wife furnished an entire five-room apartment for $25 ($305 by today’s standards) by going to auctions and bidding on unwanted lots.
- What pieces he could not find at auctions, he built himself from wooden boxes.
- The first five cars he owned were all bought second-hand.
These habits were all part of his lifestyle during a time in which he was not even poor. He had a steady income as an investment counselor and traveled in circles where everyone else had big cars, big houses, and luxurious lifestyles. The man just understood the value of conserving his resources to their best advantage.
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January 12, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Continuing our January theme of John Templeton’s relationship with thrift, we have more today from step 12 of The Templeton Plan. If these writings resonate with you be sure to join our campaign to Bring Back National Thrift Week, either by visiting the official website or by becoming a fan on Facebook.
John Templeton loves to quote Charles Dickens’s Mr. Micawber on the subject of thrift: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen ninety-six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” To Templeton, that observation is at the heart of the difference between those bound for success and those who will flounder and perhaps never find their way.
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Templeton Plan, Thrift, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
January 7, 2010 by Templeton Editor
Continuing our January theme of John Templeton’s relationship with thrift, we have more today from step 12 of The Templeton Plan. Today’s excerpt is yet another childhood anecdote. If these writings resonate with you be sure to join our campaign to Bring Back National Thrift Week, either by visiting the official website or by becoming a fan on Facebook.
The horrors of debt were made obvious to John Templeton when he was still in high school. A friend of his worked for a dollar a day, six days a week, and on Saturday he would be paid six dollars. But time and again, he would borrow four dollars from young Templeton on Thursday by promising him his entire paycheck of six dollars on Saturday. In other words, he was so unthrifty that he couldn’t manage two additional days and resorted to selling six dollars for four.
Templeton calculated the rate of interest his unfortunate friend was paying. It opened his eyes to the ways people could ruin their lives. It is best never to borrow—not even money to buy his own home—and he rarely did. The two exceptions were the two hundred dollars he borrowed from an uncle to help finance his college education and the ten thousand dollars to get him started in the investment business. They were exceptions to his general rule and in neither case did he borrow for a strictly personal expenditure.
Posted in Templeton Plan, Thrift | Tagged debt, John Templeton, payday loans, Thrift | Leave a Comment »
In the last few months, we have shared what John Templeton thought were five economic vices: envy, greed, pride, intolerance, and moral relativism, as cited in his speech to Buena Vista College entitled “The Religious Foundation of Liberty and Enterprise.” Now we are exploring what he listed as the five economic virtues.
