Gissurarson and Cleverly.
Jamie Borwick, the fifth Baron Borwick, invited Hannes H. Gissurarson, Professor Emeritus of Politics at the University of Iceland, to a reception he held on 28 June 2023 in the Cholmondeley Room at Westminster Palace, the British House of Parliament, on the occasion of Adam Smith’s 300th anniversary. It is not known when exactly Smith was born, but he was baptised on 5 June 1723 which is traditionally considered his birthday. The British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, gave a talk at the reception where he argued that Smith’s message about economic freedom was still timely and relevant. He reminded the audience however that freedom had to be defended. It was now being threatened by two bellicose and heavily armed powers, Russia and China.
Gissurarson had a discussion with Cleverly about foreign affairs. He has publicly stated that Iceland should make it a priority to seek friendship and alliance with her North Atlantic neighbours, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Norway, while maintaing cordial relations with the European Union.
Gissurarson has also described how Adam Smith had presented two powerful ideas that had to be recalled regularly. One was that one’s gain need not be another’s loss. Everybody can gain by the international division of labour if and when different abilities and resources were utilised in free market transactions. The second idea was that there can be coordination without commands. A system can be formed without anybody forming it. Smith used the expression ‘the invisible hand’ about individuals seeking only their own advantages but working unintentionally for the public good.
