{"id":51,"date":"2025-05-06T09:16:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=51"},"modified":"2025-05-06T09:16:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:16:43","slug":"the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1759, Adam Smith published <\/span>The Theory of Moral Sentiments<\/span><\/i> (TMS); in 1776, he published the <\/span>Wealth of Nations<\/span><\/i> (WN). Most economists consider both books classics, and readers continue to gain new insights from them. The WN is the foundation of much of modern economics and provides timeless insights into market exchanges. At the same time, the TMS offers insights into the nature of human social interactions that precede and provide a foundation for market processes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan Klein, an economist at George Mason University, recently wrote <\/span>\u201cInstilling Duties above Instilling Rights<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u201d where he suggests a careful reading of TMS leads us to conclude that Smith thought society is better off when people mainly focus on treating others justly above asserting their rights that must be satisfied by others. According to Klein, Smith distinguishes between \u201ccalling out loudly\u201d and \u201cproffering coolly.\u201d When one \u201ccalls out loudly,\u201d one exhorts others by appealing to an impending crisis and\/or looming fears and usually invokes a sense of shame. When one \u201cproffers coolly,\u201d one tries to persuade others by appealing to reasoned arguments and empirical evidence. One allows for, even encourages, alternative views and perspectives.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While people usually don\u2019t feel they were treated justly after being \u201ccalled out loudly,\u201d at times, it is appropriate. The scriptures of many Abrahamic religions talk about prophets calling people to repentance. Likewise, Civil Rights movements since the 1700s used scriptural language to demand that all people be treated as people of equal value. Though sometimes \u201ccalling out loudly\u201d is the best way to communicate, \u201ccalling out loudly\u201d on all issues and at all times can also make things worse, especially when people feel bullied, shamed, and excluded. Also, as in the parable of the Boy Who Cried Wolf, \u201ccalling out loudly\u201d at inappropriate times often destroys trust, so people ignore the messenger even when they should listen.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, \u201cproffering cooling\u201d more easily fits Smith\u2019s preference to treat others justly by listening to other\u2019s perspectives and appealing to reasoned arguments and empirical evidence. \u201cProffering cooling\u201d also makes people feel safer and more willing to share information so that people can examine and perhaps revise their own preconceptions and prejudices. Better information typically creates better decisions. Unfortunately, we live in a time where people feel they must \u201ccall out loudly\u201d to be heard, <\/span>often using simplified stories that misrepresent complex situations<\/span><\/a>. We hope we all pay more attention to Smith\u2019s wisdom.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1759, Adam Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS); in 1776, he published the Wealth of Nations (WN). Most economists consider both books classics, and readers continue to gain new insights from them. The WN is the foundation of much of modern economics and provides timeless insights into market exchanges. At the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[402],"tags":[158,545,550,541,147,542,549,543,97,540,547,548,546,544,539,184],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research","tag-adam-smith","tag-civil-rights","tag-complex","tag-dan-klein","tag-economics","tag-george-mason-university","tag-information","tag-instilling-duties-above-instilling-rights","tag-market","tag-market-exchanges","tag-preconception","tag-prejudice","tag-proffering-cooling","tag-rights","tag-the-theory-of-moral-sentiments","tag-wealth-of-nations"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1759, Adam Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS); in 1776, he published the Wealth of Nations (WN). Most economists consider both books classics, and readers continue to gain new insights from them. The WN is the foundation of much of modern economics and provides timeless insights into market exchanges. At the same […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T13:16:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\"},\"headline\":\"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T13:16:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":419,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Adam Smith\",\"Civil Rights\",\"complex\",\"Dan Klein\",\"economics\",\"George Mason University\",\"information\",\"Instilling Duties above Instilling Rights\",\"market\",\"market exchanges\",\"preconception\",\"prejudice\",\"proffering cooling\",\"rights\",\"The Theory of Moral Sentiments\",\"Wealth of Nations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T13:16:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Econ Briefs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\",\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"christianhartselle\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/author\\\/christianhartselle\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","og_description":"In 1759, Adam Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS); in 1776, he published the Wealth of Nations (WN). Most economists consider both books classics, and readers continue to gain new insights from them. The WN is the foundation of much of modern economics and provides timeless insights into market exchanges. At the same […]","og_url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_site_name":"Econ Briefs","article_published_time":"2025-05-06T13:16:43+00:00","author":"christianhartselle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"christianhartselle","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"author":{"name":"christianhartselle","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622"},"headline":"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz","datePublished":"2025-05-06T13:16:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"wordCount":419,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["Adam Smith","Civil Rights","complex","Dan Klein","economics","George Mason University","information","Instilling Duties above Instilling Rights","market","market exchanges","preconception","prejudice","proffering cooling","rights","The Theory of Moral Sentiments","Wealth of Nations"],"articleSection":["Research"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","name":"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-05-06T13:16:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/06\/the-power-of-proffering-coolly-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Power of Proffering Coolly \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/","name":"Econ Briefs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622","name":"christianhartselle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"christianhartselle"},"url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/author\/christianhartselle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}