The nature of Wealth is probably a subject which is more complex and subtle than many have thought. What quite many people do not seem to know is that “The Wealth of Nations” is the short version of the title of Adam Smith’s masterpiece published in 1776 and its full name is : “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.”

Note that Adam Smith has used the words “An Inquiry into..” and he seems to have deliberately made the subject matter rather open-ended. This perhaps was related to the fact that to Adam Smith, Wealth is never merely about material possessions.

Some have said that the words “the pursuit of Happiness” used by Thomas Jefferson in The US Constitution was partly inspired by the thoughts of Adam Smith who has clearly stated his view that “Material Provision” constitutes only one of the three components of” Happiness”.  The other two components are “Social Engagement” and the “Tranquiliy coming from Acting Virtuously.”

We take the view that Intellectual and Spiritual Liberation do constitute an important component of Human Happiness and may well contribute to enhancing what Adam Smith means by the sense of Tranquility in Life and as such, are important components of Wealth. And such view may be seen as only logical if we take the perspective embodied in the above quotations from Irving Fisher.

Apart from being an important source of wealth and income, we think another feature which makes intellectual ideas or what we call “Voices of the Intellect” important in human affairs is that they could well be potentially rather powerful instruments in human affairs.

“The good opinion of mankind,” said Thomas Jefferson, “ like the lever of Archimedes, with the given fulcrum, moves the world.” And there is of course also the following famous remark made by John M. Keynes:  “..the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else….”

We do not think one necessarily needs to subscribe to the optimistic perspectives of Lord Keynes to agree with us that intellectual ideas or what we call voice of the intellect should constitute important heritages of human civilisation and are valuable assets created in the course of civilisation.  

Apart from the perspectives that have been put forward earlier, we think our view can be further substantiated by the two following remarks. One is from Ralph W. Emerson, that “ A moment’s insight, sometimes, could worth a life’s experience.”

And the second quotation is from Sigmund Freud in “The Future of an Illusion” which stated that: “The Voice of the Intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endless rebuffs, it succeeds. This is one of the few points in which one may be optimistic about the future of mankind. And the existence of it signifies not a little..”

In all, we see ideas as important heritages of Humanities and important assets to be respected and treasured. In this section, we seek to keep collecting and expanding on what we see as important and insightful ideas that have been produced by All Those Who Have Lived, East and West, Past and Present.