Entrepreneurship

Removing the ability of a lone societal institution to arrogate to itself the right to pronounce law and to decide cases would result not in disorder but in a legal framework that more perfectly reflects the norms of society.

God knows I had enough to do without sitting and listening to the city people tell me what an idyllic life I had and how they envied me. But I didn't notice any of them grabbing a hayfork and pitching in.

The legacy of (classical) liberalism, though never fully implemented, is one of vast economic progress and greater freedom wherever the ideology has been widely tried.

Long before interventionism became a fixed policy of the government, American students went to Europe to complete their education, and immigrants introduced their exotic foods to the American table. But these were voluntary adoptions.

The first great error here is the mental habit that many have of thinking that big government and big business are somehow at odds. The whole of American history from the beginning to the present suggests precisely the opposite.

All the things you use every day started out as good ideas. In the market economy, good ideas are built upon by better ideas. And the results are not just felt in the abstract but become very real to millions.

In 83 years, all but 20 of Time's Persons of the Year have been political, military, or international leaders. But the world is changing, and people like Zuckerberg are creating that change. While politicians stand in the way of progress, entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg make it.

You have only a few years to live and cannot hope to remake society in so short a time. Nobody now living will see a free society in America. But, in fighting for it, one can have a lot of fun. Consider the effort as a legacy to your great-grandchildren.

I want to focus on how these times relate to history and how we can change the future by applying the economic way of thinking. I am therefore going to draw your attention to four different themes.