Leonard E. Read

Articles

08/31/2010 Articles of Interest Leonard E. Read

First published in the December 1958 issue of The Freeman, "I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read" is written from the point of view of an Eberhard Faber pencil.

I Don’t Know

11/02/2011 Mises Daily Leonard E. Read

These students of liberty have not yet learned to answer honestly, “I don’t know; I never will know; no one will ever know.”

The Rap against Unearned Riches

11/10/2011 Mises Daily Leonard E. Read

Only if one understands the subjective theory of value may he proceed logically to a belief in private ownership and control of property.

Publications

Freedom in One Lesson: The Best of Leonard Read

04/30/2025 Gary Galles Leonard E. Read

Introduction Leonard Read is not a household name; in fact, not many Americans even recognize it. That is unfortunate, because, according to his biographer, Mary Sennholz, “Leonard Read was one of the most notable social philosophers of our time. His

Vision

03/15/1978 Leonard E. Read

Vision is the blessing of foresight, but it has no chance of realization without its companion blessing, insight. In the absence of these twin attainments—each within our reach—the people perish, that is, they vegetate rather than germinate, stagnate

Instead of Violence

06/22/1951 Leonard E. Read

Written in 1951, this is one of Leonard Read’s earliest pamphlets on what he called “the philosophy of freedom.” As was often the case in Read’s essays on spreading the message of liberty, he notes that the first step is evaluating one’s own thinking

Media

The Miraculous Market

03/26/2009 Leonard E. Read

Think of it! The finest orchestrations ever known to man, the most beautiful music any individual on earth has heard — all mine, and done for me privately when I want it, and where I want it, and for no more than the flick of a switch. Staggering

I, Pencil

04/01/2009 Leonard E. Read

The audio version of Leonard Read’s classic essay. Narrated by Floy Lilley.

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.