Teaching Economic Freedom Through Stories of Urban Prosperity

Teaching Economic
Freedom: Ideas and
Resources
Gregory Rehmke
Economic Thinking • grehmke@gmail.com

Saturday, November 5, 11

Notes on Freedom
Organizations
• Many pro-market groups supporting:
Activism, Public Policy research, and
Economic Education.

• I have worked with the Foundation for
Economic Education, Reason Foundation,
and other education organizations.


Teaching Tomorrow’s
Idea Leaders
• Explaining and discussing the key role
of economic freedom takes time.

• Teachers and students have time.
• Some have self-selected to inﬂuence
others: teachers, student leaders, students
on school paper, or in speech and debate.


For Teachers and Students
Effective education groups with
programs and resources for teachers.

• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Foundation for Teaching Economics (fte.org)
• Izzit.org/FreetoChoose.tv
• StosselintheClassroom.org
• Acton Institute/Media, PovertyCure.org

fte.org
www.nfte.com/

Sife.org www.billofrightsinstitute.org
Students in
Free Enterprise


fte.org

www.nfte.com/


www.nfte.com


www.ten9eight.com


Students in
Free Enterprise
SI FE.org

Bill of Rights
Institute
www.BillofRights
Institute.org

PovertyCure.org • Acton.org • Izzit.org


www.PovertyCure.org

www.StosselintheClassroom.org


www.FreetoChooseMedia.org
www.FreetoChoose.tv

www.MiltonFriedmansCentury.org


FreeToChoose.net


Poverty to prosperity
in Arrival Cities
www.CalloftheEntrepreneur.com


[draft, March 21, 2011 - Greg Rehmke]

Triumph of the City
exchanging goods, services, and favors.
But in cities cash and credit are king,
and markets coordinate the complex
exchanges among hundreds of thou-
or, Call of the Entrepreneur sands of strangers each day.
City people don’t know more about the
for Ben, the Luggage Boy world (they usually know far less of
life outside the city), but what they do
Entrepreneurs in the exchange economies of cities create and know is more finely divided into skills
coordinate economic prosperity. Around the world 350 cities distributed among dozens or hundreds
with over a million residents have recently joined the world across enterprises, factories, and indus-
economy. Opportunity draws the rural poor into these cities tries. This deeper division of labor and
where they can join the global workforce. Sound legal institu- wider scope of trade allows marvel-
tions are key, as are honesty, savings, and self-improvement. ously complicated operations, from the design and assembly of
watches, bicycles, and buildings, to the management and opera-
Through the 1800s hundreds of thousands of young people were
tion of factories and textiles mills.
drawn from the countryside to New York City and to other
American cities. Then, railroads lowered transportation costs to The progressive power of cities pushing specialization, produc-
the ports of Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and steam- tion, and exchange lifted living standards in western Europe for
ships lowered theAtlantic crossing. Millions of Europeans mi- centuries. But such dynamic cities never fully developed in
grated from Europe to American cities, moving from where land Russia, Asia and India. Why? Institutional financial restraints
was relatively scarce to where labor was relatively slowed large enterprises in the Islamic world too
scarce and wages higher. Millions stayed in fast (see Timur Kuran’s book The Long Divergence:
expanding cities, and millions more moved on to How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East).
the develop farms and populate the cities across Since the fall of communism in Eastern and
the American west (as brought to life in the corny Southern Europe, the former USSR, and China,
but wonderful movie, book, and TV series, How plus the shift from socialism in India and much
the West Was Won). of Africa, millions worldwide have streamed to
What was life like for the millions of migrants fast-expanding cities. Lacking economic free-
entering New York City’s “golden door” in the dom and rule of law institutions, wealth creation
1800s? Horatio Alger, Jr.’s many popular novels in cities of the developing world has been slower
for young people drew from the actual stories re- than it could have been. But in recent decades
lated to Alger in interviews with New York City technology advances reducing the price of food,
bootblacks, errand boys, and luggage “smashers.” transportation, and clothing have partially com-
Alger’s “rags to riches” novels were eagerly read pensated.
by millions of Americans over the following dec- Edward Glaeser in Triumph of the City com-
ades. Most of us have heard of “Horatio Alger ments that there is "a lot to like" about the shanty
stories,” but not many ever actually read one. towns of the developing world. These seem terrible places for
A few months ago I read my first: Ragged Dick or Street Life in homeless families, and for the homeless without families, but
New York with the Bootblacks, a popular Horatio Alger, Jr. novel compared to what? Compared to the reality of rural poverty in
still in print. This short novel is brings to life 1860s street scenes the developing world, urban poverty turns out to be an im-
in a smaller but still vibrant New York City. Written for young provement for most. A Manhattan Institute review claims:
people, Alger's novels are engaging, realistic, fun, and fascinat- “Even the worst cities–Kinshasa, Kolkata, Lagos–confer surpris-
ing. They tell stories that ring true for ing benefits on the people who flock to them, including better
all times and places. Success is never health and more jobs than the rural areas that surround them.”
easy or sure, and progress depends on It is very, very good news for the coming decades that hundreds
the simple virtues of honesty, self- of millions of people are finding a path to prosperity that often
denial, savings, and self-improvement. begins by looking for work in cities. Michael Cox asked us to
People know each other face-to-face imagine a few people dropped into a jungle, and just one had a
in rural towns and villages, and are machete. That tool, a like the key labor-saving technologies of
familiar with each other’s reputation Western Europe, allowed for path to be cut through the jungle
and character. But daily life in the much more quickly. But, Cox notes, when other societies find
city turns on exchanges with strangers that path, they can run to catch up even more quickly. China,
whose character and reputation are India, and Indonesia need not suffer through the decades of
unknown. In the village, daily life heavily pollution “dark satanic mills” and can instead gain from
turns on a few dozen family members advance light industry developed by foreign capital and exper-
and friends working with each other tise. And when the developing world is finally allowed access to
Saturday, November 5, 11 Page 1

www.EconomicThinking.org/Africa
E C O N O M I C T H I N K I N G

Africa
Enterprises, Resources, and Prosperity
A Continent rich with minerals and oil has long lacked the economic freedom that
would allow its people—Africa’s Ultimate Resource— access to the world economy.
E c o n o m i c T h i n k i n g / M a c k i n a c C e n t e r A f r i c a & P u b l i c H e a l t h S t u d y G u i d e

Fighting
Summer 2007
www.EconomicThinking.org/Space
Fighting the Diseases of Poverty

the Diseases
of Poverty

E C O N O M I C T H I N K I N G
Edited by Philip Stevens

The Economics of
d

s.
ld

s
International Policy Press

Edited by Philip Stevens Books • Articles • Documentaries • Movies • Online video • Web sites

Africa’s Ultimate Resource perts of one generation oppose insights and in- bed nets vs.

Space Exploration
novations from younger researchers. indoor DDT
Economic Development in Africa is Ignaz Semmelweis, a young doctor in Vienna, spraying to re-
big news. From the Vanity Fair special Africa was put in charge of two hospital maternity duce malaria in
issue guest-edited by U2’s Bono to Time and Na- wards where he could observe midwives deliv- Africa.
tional Geographic cover stories. African conﬂict, ered babies in one, and “modern” doctors deliv- Debates
poverty, and public health problems invigorate ering in the other. Leading doctors at the time over what insti-
celebrities as well as journalists, economists, and (1841) were dismissive of midwives and their tutions should

Social Services
young people. A recent high school debate topic traditional hand-washing before delivering ba- deal with public

Contests, Entrepreneurship, and Special Interests in Space
on public heath in Africa gave tens of thousands bies. Semmelweis saw 20 percent of babies deliv- health and eco-
of students an unique opportunity to research ered by doctors die of fever (puerperal sepsis) and nomic develop-
behind headlines and celebrity photo shoots. much lower death rate with midwives. He estab- ment continue.
Africa’s development and public health prob- lished procedures for doctors to wash their Today, public Macinac Center Debate Workshps Space Topic Study Guide O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 1
lems have long been linked to the legacy of slav- hands and mortality rates quickly dropped by health advocates
ery and colonialism. Rich countries have moved
on to “modern” public health problems like
For those living in poverty in the U.S.
two-thirds. Angry doctors considered it foolish
mysticism to believe something invisible could
in the U.S. call for government to restrict teenage
diets to less fatty foods and fewer sugared colas.
smoking, overeating, and over-medication. But cause disease. They ﬁred Semmelweis, who was Fatty foods and overweight people are, of course,
in Africa, cooking smoke, unclean water, malnu- State and federal governments provide a wide array of social services for those living
later committed to an insane asylum and died not the public health problems of African coun-
trition, and disease are the central public health there (of an infection). tries. Africans are astonished to hear that being
problems, as they had been through recorded in poverty, but overweight is perhaps the leading indicator of health care, & housing through regulation
also reduce access to jobs,
Such tragedies are not unique in the history of
history across the world until recent centuries. medicine and public health. The widespread use health problems for Americans.
Public health problems go back as far as civili- of quinine to treat malariaE c delayed for cen-c
was o n o m i T Buticonsider thisg
h n k i n discussion from o c i a l S e r v i c e s T o p i c
• S public • Fall, 2009
zation. But organized, science-based efforts to turies. Effective treatment of tuberculosis with health historian George Rosen: “The protection
provide clean water, remove wastes, and reduce drugs was vigorously opposed by TB experts of and promotion of health and welfare of its citi-
infectious diseases are much newer. That history the day who ran sanitariums. Even today there zens is considered to be one of the most impor-
has been sometimes tragic as leading health ex- are disputes over public health issues such as tant functions of the modern state.” Rosen writes
Can we return to the Moon for just $30 million? Though a the title sponsors of the first X PRIZE,
fraction of total funds needed to land a rover on the Moon, the jumpstarting 26 teams from 7 differ-
Africa: Enterprises, Resources, and Prosperity
1 Google Lunar X PRIZE contest has inspired over two dozen teams ent nations to pursue their passions
to begin design and development, and has assisted their efforts to by competing for the prize.Those 26
raise funds for lunar exploration. The Google Lunar X PRIZE offers teams combined spent more than
$30 million: “to the first privately funded $100 million to win
teams to safely land a robot on the sur- the prize. Since
face of the Moon, have that robot travel SpaceShipOne won
services. State and non-state services are safety net we weave for ourselves in our 500 meters over the lunar surface, and the prize, there has
Rethinking Social Safety Nets similar: the U.S. Postal Service provides long-term relationships with those been more than $1.5
send video, images and data back to the
A social safety net is different from services similar to FedEx and UPS, and around us. We help those we care for billion dollars in pub-
Earth.” (Read the details of this moon
a government one, because society is Social Security is similar to individual when they ask. And we can naturally
exploration contest at: www.googlelunarxprize.org) lic and private expen-
different from government. Government savings. But though these services are hope and expect these friends and diture in...the private spaceflight indus-

www.EconomicThinking.org/poverty
is the only social institution able to legally similar in form, they are far different in relatives will help us in our time of need. Contests have a long history of enabling exploration across land, try. space.xprize.org/ansari-x-prize
use force to extract funding, and use force substance, as most customers can attest. Some have torn these natural support sea, air, and now outer space. Dava Sobel’s Longitude recounts the
to carry out programs. Understanding When someone falls through society’s networks of friends and family, or not British government’s £20,000 prize offered to the inventor of a Arrayed against the entrepreneurs
this distinction between society and the safety net, they have in reality fallen kept them in good repair. So these unfor- way to measure longitude, in order to increase ocean exploration. and enterprises of the New Space
state is key for effective social services for through many safety nets. First, they tunate souls keep falling after losing jobs, Industry, are the cost-plus contrac- Lunar X
those living in poverty. Americans have The Ansari X PRIZE was modeled after the Orteig Prize, won by Char- tors of the Old Space industry.
Prize
have fallen through an employment savings, and not having insurance, fam-
long been skeptical of state coercion to les Lindbergh in 1927 for being the first to fly non-stop from New York competitors
safety net, being unable or unwilling to ily, or friends to support them when life NASA’s just-announced deep space
fund and provide social services. to Paris, and mirrored the hundreds of aviation incentive prizes offered
take even a short-term job to sustain them goes wrong. rocket, with its $35 billion price tag, would be built by cost-plus
Societies are collections of institutions while searching for a better job. Second, early in the 20th century that helped create today's $300 billion com- space contractors. To get Congressional funding NASA and lob-
The next social safety net is set out by
each drawing upon unique relationships. society’s fallen have exhausted the churches, mutual aid societies, and other mercial aviation byists will likely try to undermine
Social safety nets draw upon relation- personal savings safety net—the six associations. Churches ask funds from industry. Dr. less-expensive New Space launch
ships based on caring, or secured with months of savings we are all supposed to members each week to support charitable Peter Diamandis systems and exploration projects.
contracts, that shape the scope and set aside to sustain us through hardship causes, including members in need. These designed the NASA and the Old Space contractors
quality of services provided. or hold us over in between jobs. A third services are provided discreetly and are prize after read-
safety net is the insurance that many pay are accustomed to cost-overruns
When we say someone “fell through one of the responsibilities churches take ing The Spirit of (and profits from cost-overruns):
the safety net” it suggests a government for monthly to insure against job loss or on. Mutual Aid Societies offered another St. Louis about costs that include lobbying Congress
agency could have or should have caught medical problems.. safety net, but have the winning of
them. Not to quibble about language, but Crashing through these three social diminished in the U.S. and England as for projects like the new “monster
the Orteig Prize. rocket” (see page 8). This year, space
social services are provided by society: safety nets, most of us would fall next government social programs and insur-
governments provide government
... The Ansari exploration’s future is being debated
into the hands of family and friends. This ance regulations squeezed them out.
family [became] Charles Lindberg wins the Orteig from high school to Congress.
Scaled Composite’s SpaceShipOne wins the Ansari X Prize Prize for crossing the Atlantic.
www.EconomicThinking.org/Poverty
Social Services for those Living in Poverty Page 1 www.mackinac.org/debate The Economics of Space Exploration 1


Yes, Minister and
Yes, Prime Minister


www.EconomicThinking.org/Reagan


Teaching Economic Freedom Through Stories of Urban Prosperity

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Ähnlich wie Teaching Economic Freedom Through Stories of Urban Prosperity

Ähnlich wie Teaching Economic Freedom Through Stories of Urban Prosperity (14)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Teaching Economic Freedom Through Stories of Urban Prosperity