Announcement V

Five Topics

1 First of three moves today (Move 1): Transferring basics and temporary office to my daughter's today and tomorrow (may work on-line between old home and my daughter's for a week or two). Hence, very busy with 1st move boxes and some furniture.

2 From the above event there may well be interruptions to Lost Legacy - please have patience.

Move 2 is when our old house is cleared into temporary storage on 14December (old house changes hands on 18 December).

Move 3 is from our temporary abode with my daughter (her second baby due - imminent this week!) of our furniture and my library from the storage people on 4 February to our new house, a couple of miles away.

3 The need to moderate comments continues - the Chinese spammers continue to make 'comments' (about what I do not know) in Chinese - but the Moderator system on Blogger is 'suspect'. I post to publish and they disappear!

Please could potential commentators post their comments via the email address at the top of the home page?

4 Work proceeds slowly on the 'metaphor in the middle' riddle but it is proceeding very slowly. This is most frustrating.

5 My review/discussion of Murray Wilgate and Shannon C. Stimson, After Adam Smith: a century of transformation in politics and political economy, 2009, Princeton University Press, is held up until at least 14 December, for which my deeply-felt apologies. It is worthy of notice by all Smithian scholars.

Thank you

Gavin

Announcement IV

I took a short break yesterday either side of lunch and posted on Lost Legacy.

However, the spam comments attack continues - 17 since Saturday - all in Chinese and the bits in English are weird.

Those few appropriate comments were published - the rest were rejected.

I have snatched moments to continue reading and I am making slow progress in my response to Daniel Klein's paper. I think I can now track what Adam Smith did in his various editions to maintain 'centrality' of the metaphor of "an invisible hand".
However, with about 1/3rd of my books despoatached to local charity shops, I have a long way to go to clear the house in a couple of weeks.

Keep reading.

Gavin

Announcement 3

I have a couple of pressing projects on the go:

1 Daniel Klein and Brandon Lucas's "In a Word or Two, Placed in the Middle" (October 2009), which is their most interesting paper on the significance of the "metaphor" of the "invisible hand" for Adam Smith (from an idea of Thucydides).

This is underway and I was estimating a response in a week or so.

2 A review of Murray Milgate and Shannon C. Stimson's "After Adam Smith: a century of transformation in politics and political economy", 2009, Princeton University Press, was to appear in chapter instlaments from this week.

However, we have had our house (downsizing after the children left the nest for their own homes) on the market since November 2008 (the month when the UK property market finally went into free-fall).

The market has picked up and we accepted a (negotiated) offer for our house. The purchasers required an early entry date ("before Christmas") and we agreed today to this condition, previously expecting a leisurely transfer in February 2010. This gives us about four weeks to dismantle the house contents down to sufficient for two persons instead of five. Plus move my library. And look around the market for a suitable new, smaller, house in south Edinburgh.

The immediate consequence is that I am going to be very busy domestically for several weeks emptying one house, moving some of our property into a daughter's house until we settle on a new house, placing most of our property into storage, ready for the new house, and sending some of the surplsu to our French house.

Scholarly-wise, this is most "inconvenient", while domestically it is a great relief, believe me.

I shall do what I can, when I can, on the above two projects, but slower than I had anticipated. Be sure, however, that the two projects will be completed and posted on Lost Legacy.

I regard Daniel Klein and Brandon Lucas's "In a Word or Two, Placed in the Middle" (October 2009), as the most important paper on the invisible hand for many a year and it requires a considered response. In my teens we called this a "put up or shut up" moment. I hope you will bear with me over the next few weeks as I prepare my "put up" response, or, if the case merits it, my "shut up" resignation.

My review of Milgate and Stimson, similarly, will plod a long somewhat slower but it will appear - that's a promise.

Thank you

Gavin

Announcement - temporary no connection from 11am UK time

I am travelling back to Edinburgh from France today (Saturday) and will reconnect, all being well, later this evening.

It looks like an interesting debate is commencing between myself and Bruce on the geo-historical formation and evolution of property (see my post on the ideas of Bruce for Thursday and follow the links to Bruce's website).

Announcement - connected

Connected 09.45pm French time.

Shall post Sunday.

Gavin

Announcement: Connection Interrupted

I shall of off-line until I re-establish connection in France.

This short break is to arrange the property for the winter.

Always mindful that Adam Smith visited France (Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Paris) 1764-66, I also have parts of my library there.

I hope to re-connect later today.

Gavin

Comments Moderation Stays ON

A series of attacks on Lost Legacy from foreign repetitive language trolls and mischief-makers forced me to introduce the Blogger feature of Comments Moderation.

These have continued intermittently since (the latest, a couple of hours ago). I am therefore compelled to leave Comment Moderation on.

Apologies.

As I tend to visit Lost Legacy regularly when I am in the house (and when connected abroad), there should not be a long delay for genuine readers wishing to make a point or two. Though, I notice the number of comments from readers has dropped away. This too is disappointing and I hope it is soon reversed.

Let me have your views.

Gavin

Diary Announcement

I am visiting Aberdeen University Friday for a seminar on Scottish intellectual history under the auspices of the Scottish Philosophy Group, which covers academics from Glasgow, Edinburgh,St Andrews and Aberdeen universities, plus retired persons like me.

Leaving Edinburgh and 8.29 and returning about 12 hours later, so posts will be slim today - depending on how much awaits me on my return.

Comment moderation remains ON. It is blocking sustained 'attacks' from nuisance posters, so apologies. I check regularly during the day (except today in Aberdeen) but will read everything later this evening and process responsible comments immediately.

Just for the record, post I disagree with but on the subject appropriate to Lost Legacy will always be published.