There is hardly a person who never wished to see historical figures with his/her own eyes, to discuss their works and achievements with them personally, and to spend time sharing impressions about their studies. Sometimes it seems that it would be great for some of those figures to visit the countries they have never been to. It would be honorable and extremely interesting to take Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Robert Owen to such countries as America, Albania, and Cuba; they can further discuss the impressions about their trips as well as other issues with one of the modern politicians, Paul Volcker.
Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher, would benefit greatly from the trip to America. Smith was a philosopher but he was also interested in other subjects apart from philosophy. He used to pay special attention to history.
He was deeply conscious of the history he was living in; it is probable that he saw the human species as immersed in history at all moments of its existence; and it is certain that he contributed to the development of historical thought in new directions and the acquisition of new meanings by the term “history”. (Haakonssen 270)
America is a highly developed country which, like no other country, is able to demonstrate all of the modern achievements of humanity. Adam Smith would be glad to observe how much the world has changed since the 18th century. The best place for Smith to visit would be New York, the city which experienced a great number of changes over the past decades. Smith, a pioneer of political economy, would be interested in analyzing the current economic situation in the country and, perhaps, even suggest ways for the country to overcome the economic crisis. I believe that Smith should be taken to America because throughout his life he traveled mostly around Europe, and it would be interesting for him to compare Europe and America from the point of view of moral philosopher.
Karl Marx, social scientist and philosopher of the 19th century, will find it interesting to visit Albania, one of the smallest countries in Europe. As a historian, he would be interested in visiting numerous historical museums, as well as museums of natural history and national culture which belong to the greatest sites of Albania. Karl Marx spent most of his life in Germany and France; this is why Albania, which differs from those countries in culture, politics, and other aspects, is likely to appeal to Marx. As an independent thinker, Marx could forecast further development of the country and give some advices on how the country could use tourism for its development; this advice of his would be quite valuable because Marx was a person who could unite history and philosophy; he could work out a proper solution basing on the analysis of Albania’s history and using both its strengths and weaknesses for ensuring proper development of the country. His advice could be relied upon, for “Marx was someone whose intellectual achievements in economics, history, and social theory … resulted simply from following the empirical evidence, and the paths of independent thinking and theoretical construction.” (Wood xi) Karl Marx should be taken to Albania because this country has not been yet strongly affected by globalization; the philosopher will not be astonished at enormous skyscrapers or extremely lively traffic, which cannot be found in Albania. A tour around Albania will explore the heritage of this country and find out about its culture which was strongly influenced by Turks, Greeks, and Romans.
Robert Owen would probably change most of his ideologies after visiting Cuba. Owen’s cherished dream was to create a utopian community which would be able to lead to an international social reform. “Influenced by radical Enlightenment rationalism, Owen opposed revealed religion and espoused a conviction that human character is, without exception formed by one’s environment” (Foster and Dunnavant 143); he kept to the idea that social reform could be implemented if this environment could be controlled. If Owen was able to visit Cuba these days and to learn more about this country, he would refuse from his ideas of creating a utopian community. Creation of the perfect world and equality is unnecessary, since in the present community the countries which are more developed offer help to those which are not. Thus, Cuba regularly gets humanitarian help from its neighbor, the United States, the country which often offers assistance to the Third World Countries. Owen would realize that Utopia is unnecessary for the community seeking mutual help and understanding. Moreover, Cuba has a number of sites to visit. Robert Owen would eventually abandon his utopian ideas after seeing how much the country achieved without having a perfect community. Old Havana is a place he should surely visit, for its buildings, music, food, and especially people make it the most unique place in the world. After visiting Cuba, Owen will admit that people do not need any social reforms and a utopian community to live in harmony and to be satisfied with what one has achieved.
These three philosophers could have a lively discussion of different issues during the dinner with Paul Volcker, an American economist and a chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Since Volcker and Smith are both economists, they could discuss the ways to improve the economy of the United States. The value of this discussion lies in the fact that Smith could evaluate the economic situation in the country objectively and basing on his own knowledge about the economy. Going to basics proves to be beneficial in a number of situations; perhaps, Smith’s fresh take on things could throw the light on what modern economists do not notice. Robert Owen could offer once again the idea of the utopian community which Volcker would definitely oppose. They could wrangle over this issue with Volcker’s proving to Owen why utopian ideas are unacceptable in the modern world. Finally, Karl Marx could use his independent thinking and adjudicate the dispute, expressing his own opinion about the utopian community. This issue is unusual for Marx who believed only in empirical evidence this is why the conversation will be extremely interesting for him.
In sum, Adam Smith’s, Karl Marx’s, and Robert Owen’s visit to America, Albania, and Cuba could greatly impress them and even influence the ideologies they kept to throughout their lives. Their dining with a contemporary politician Paul Volcker would be useful for each of them, resulting in philosophers’ changing their ideas about certain issues and Volcker getting an advice from people who are considered to be the greatest thinkers of the past. The philosophers’ advice to help the US improve its current economic situation could be valuable and could be used by Volcker for the benefit of the country.
Works Cited
Foster, Douglas A. and Dunnavant, Anthony L. The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004.
Haakonssen, Knud. The Cambridge Companion to Adam Smith. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Wood, Allen W. Karl Marx. Routledge, 2004.