Source: EconLog
by Kevin Corcoran
“In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith used rules about writing as a metaphor for rules of conduct. He examines conduct by two different measures. In one measure, he considers what rules one would need to follow to, in my inelegant paraphrase, avoid being an actively scummy person. On the other hand, he also considers what rules of conduct one would need to observe to be a positively virtuous and praiseworthy person. … Orwell attempted to put out clear and straightforward rules for how to improve the quality of one’s writing. He lays out six rules. … Orwell, like Smith, expected people to be able to recognize what is good or bad writing (or virtuous behavior) independently of the rules.” (06/20/25)
https://www.econlib.org/adam-smith-george-orwell-and-rules-for-writing/