Things may not be as bad as we fear.

http://www.independent.org/blog/?p=667
I hadn't heard this, but Obama says that Adam Smith is one of the most influential writers he's read. He's read both The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations.

Smith had some flaws, but his book had a generally salutary effect on world history.

***

Note to self: I want to check out the podcast mentioned in Art Carden's article, Deirdre N. McCloskey on the Bourgeois Virtues.