prior probability

Update (11/20): The post was slightly revised on Nov. 20, 2020. (Previously, this blog post corresponded to footnote 16 of my “Adam Smith in Love” paper, but with subsequent revisions of my paper, it has now become footnote 24.)

Footnote 24 of my work-in-progress addresses the tradition of going on a “Grand Tour of Europe,” a rite of passage in which many young British aristocrats, with their appointed tutors in tow, would travel to Italy and France during the 18th Century:

“… In setting off for France with his tutor Adam Smith, the future Duke and the future father of modern price theory were following an elite and well-established tradition, for the Grand Tour was a rite of passage of the sons of elite British families as well as ‘the “crown” of [their] education.’ (See Cohen (2001), p. 129. See also Brodsky-Porges, 1981, p. 178, quoting Ogilvie, 1939.) Michèle Cohen (1992, 2001) has explored the educational and cultural ideals of the Grand Tour and has identified many deep ‘contradictions and ambiguities’ of these tours. In addition, the sexual aspect of European Grand Tours by young British aristocrats (and their tutors?) during this era should also not go unnoticed. See, e.g., Chapter 5 of Black, 2011 [1985], which is titled ‘Love, Sex, Gambling, and Drinking.’ See also Black, 1981, p. 660 & p. 666, n.7; Black, 1983, pp. 413-414; Cohen, 1992, pp. 255-256.”

Below are my sources:

Jeremy Black, “British Travellers in Europe in the Early Eighteenth Century,” Dalhousie Review, Vol. 61, No. 4 (1981), pp. 655–667.

___________, “France and the Grand Tour in the Early Eighteenth Century,” Francia, Vol. 11 (1983), pp. 407–416.

___________, The British and the Grand Tour, Croom Helm (2011) [1985].

Edward Brodsky-Porges, “The Grand Tour: Travel as an Educational Device, 1600–1800,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 8, No. 2 (1981), pp. 171–186.

Michèle Cohen, “The Grand Tour: Constructing the English Gentleman in Eighteenth-Century France,” History of Education, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1992), pp. 241-257.

___________, “The Grand Tour: Language, National Identity, and Masculinity,” Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, Vol. 8, No. 2 (2001), pp. 129-141.

More details here; hat tip: @aaron_stagoff. Also, check out my September 27, 2013 blog post (one of my very first blog posts!) in which I describe the USA as an oppressive “Police State“: more people are locked up in the United States than in China.

Here is another extended excerpt from my work-in-progress “Love and Liberty: A Short History of Adam Smith in Love.”

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Hurricane Eta, a dangerous Category 4 storm, is now heading for my beloved Island of Cuba; may she dislodge the corrupt and obsolete Cuban Communist Party from power forever!

Alternative title: Romance in L’Ancien Regime: Adultery, Kept Women, and “le demimonde”

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With apologies to Sheree and her excellent and entertaining “View from the Back” blog:

Ok, I will say a few words. This year’s Libertarian candidate (my preferred choice) has thus far received only 1.1% of the popular vote. By comparison, the 2016 Libertarian candidate (Gary Johnson) won 4.4% of the popular vote last time around. Next time (2024), us Libertarians should take a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook and run a celebrity candidate. Are there any famous Libertarians left in Hollywood?

As we await the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, allow me to make the following two updates about my current research project “Adam Smith in Love.”

Update #1: My friend and colleague Professor Brian Frye (Kentucky) recently featured my “Adam Smith in Love” paper on Episode #641(!) of his Ipse Dixit podcast. The Adam Smith in Love podcast is about 1/2 hour long and is available here.

Update #2: I have made significant revisions and additions to my “Adam Smith in Love” paper, which is available here, including a new subsection about “Romance in L’Ancien Regime: Adultery, Kept Women, and Le Demimonde” and a new conjecture about a possible love affair Smith had with one Madame Nicol. I will be blogging about these new additions to my paper soon.

Jo Jorgensen, that is! First and foremost, because she is Libertarian; secondly, because she is the smartest candidate in the field; thirdly, because my remaining choices are just so terrible; and fourthly, because I don’t like being told what to do, especially by faux-libertarians. Any questions?