I am not an Adam Smith and this article about free will and the wealth of nations is definitely not a sequel to his genius book. However, the article plays with the notion that nearly all people believe in free will. However there are major disparities between individual nations and their subsequent wealth. So where is the problem?
History of free will question
Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle discussed the nature of human agency and the concept of moral responsibility. Plato explored in works like The Republic the idea of the soul’s freedom to choose between good and evil. Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics emphasized the importance of rational deliberation in ethical decision-making.
Medieval Christianity questioned free will when assessing the existence of evil. St. Thomas Aquinas whom I deeply despise because of his opinions on suicide. The Biblical characters committed suicide and the Bible didn’t question it. But he did.
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, philosophers such as René Descartes, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant further developed ideas about free will and determinism. Descartes defended the existence of free will as a fundamental aspect of human consciousness.
Modern and contemporary thought, since the Scientific revolution took place and a lot of the smartest brains were put into the fields, offers various positions on free will.
But as our knowledge of the physical laws and neuroscience development continues to advance, a lot of prominent scholars deeply question free will existence.
Needless to say, they always deal with free will as a moral agent, not as free will and the wealth of nations.
Tree mainstream positions on free will
Compatibilism says free will and determinism are compatible concepts. Even if determinism is true and every event is causally determined by preceding events, individuals can still have free will in the sense that they are able to make meaningful choices and be morally responsible for their actions. They argue that free will does not require the absence of causality. Rather, it is about the ability to act according to one’s own desires and motivations, even if those desires are themselves influenced by prior causes.
Libertarianism asserts that free will exists and that individuals have the ability to make choices that are not determined by prior causes. Proponents of this view reject determinism, arguing that human beings have the capacity for genuine spontaneity and self-determination. Free will is incompatible with determinism. And it implies that individuals have the power to choose between genuine alternatives, with their choices not being wholly determined by factors outside of their control.
Hard Determinism takes the opposing stance to libertarianism by asserting that free will is an illusion and that all events, including human actions, are causally determined by preceding factors. According to this perspective, every choice a person makes is the inevitable result of prior causes. Whether those causes are biological, environmental, or social. Therefore, individuals do not have genuine freedom or control over their actions Everything is ultimately determined by factors beyond their control.
Do various aspects of the nations’ wealth succumb to free will?
While Big Five personality traits measured by factor analysis prove there are little differences among the nations, there are definitely other aspects such as culture that vary among countries and even their parts.
Nations such as Japan or North and South Korea (just examples) have a very distinct culture that promotes strong work ethics and leadership so they can better innovate.
Germany had the best universities in the pre-war period and now had rather mediocre ones because the US didn’t want them to be so technologically and scientifically advanced.
The post-war European order was that France would be muscles, Germany strong economic leader. And it was exactly just like this.
The diligence of Germans made even countries like the Czech Republic prosperous. Imagine the Czech Republic in the same geographic area as Argentina is. What a total disaster it would be!
How do political systems, free will and the wealth of nations go along?
What type of political system countries have lies in historical background. Colonialism, imperialism, and patterns of trade and exploitation by others.
South American countries had their background eminences (and 98 % of politics is in the background). And since their interconnection with the natural resources, they prevented anything that would have changed the economy.
There are millions of possible constellations of how a political system can look like. And how it would have looked like.
So creating different wealth means different systems and constellations are present.
This quietly puts the notion of free will away. But if the politicians, lobbyists, oligarchs, and other unspecified background influences had free will, what the outcome would be? Absolutely different one.
Also, the quality of economic institutions, including property rights, rule of law, regulatory frameworks, and governance structures, significantly influences economic performance. Free will and the wealth of nations? So what kind of free will?
There is no free will
Our universe is either deterministic or inter-deterministic and our brains are a product of the physical world, and they succumb to it, so it leaves no place for it. We are basically biological robots (including our brains).
Imagine a baby being born, it has innate intelligence, personality traits, moral traits and there are also environmental factors. It is different when you are born in the ghetto or an affluent family with both parents having steady jobs. The societal outcome is very different. And all of the aforementioned features predestine you somewhere.
A brain has 86 billion neurons. And every neuron impulse is based on a previous state. And you don’t exert influence over your neurons. They exert influence over you. Every single choice of yours is based on their previous state. Tastes (food, fashion, opposite sex, cars), hobbies, political views, world-view, personality, IQ, talent, psychomotorics). Imagine telling neuron B65T to send an impulse to neuron D72JR, which would also stimulate other neurons. No, it is you who is absolutely under their control.)
You may have caught yourself: ”Why did I formulate this argument that way?” or “Why did I do that?” Or you may ask why you didn’t say something in a billion different ways but just the only one. (Arguments for atheism, Jan Bryxí 2023)
There is no free will and the wealth of the nations is totally dependent on it
Culture of individuals’ performance in an economy: diligence, desire to risk, leadership, work ethic, visions
Voting culture: not voting for populists, always punishing a sinning politician, voting for those who want reforms, critical thinking, etc.),
The political culture inside the parties; for example, Austrian politicians try to keep away the super-rich from the political system; discipline, feud-solving
Culture of the background eminences (the super-rich) who make decisions: will they work for the country or just for themselves; are they gangsters or not
While there is a limited free will notion by many factors, normal voting citizens and their culture would act as best as they could have just by sheer free will. And we don’t see it.
Even the politicians and background clientelist structures would make different outcomes when having free will.
So the absence of free will makes differences between a nation’s wealth along with other various factors.
Free will does matter because there is no free will.
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