"When the Wright brothers got their airplane up in the air for the first time, it wasn't because they overcame the laws of physics, it was because they figured out how to harness those laws." - Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles

The rate and scale of change taking place around us are so destabilizing that it would be easy to think that 'old ideas' no longer apply. Could economic principles that were articulated in the late 1700s possibly be relevant in a global, digital economy?

Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles, and principal at Kilbride Public Affairs, says yes – and he recently re-read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to prove it to himself.

Patrick is a public policy expert with experience as a Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative. He has held a number of executive strategy- and policy-focused roles at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Today, he is a Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles, a 501(c)(4) focused on personal liberties, free markets, and strong national security.

In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner speaks with Patrick about the wisdom Adam Smith and his contemporaries can still offer us today:

Why (and which) economic principles articulated during the Enlightenment still hold true today
The quality of life improvements that have been driven by productivity gains despite population growth
The role that governments can play in supporting enlightened self-interest

Links:

Enlightenment Thinking in an Age of Disruption