June

to give to others, it is not 236 A Reviewer's Notebook engaging in charity, but John Chamberlain promoting legal plunder. A review of "The Undying Flame: Mariano Moreno of 216 Deregulation of the Natural Buenos Aires," a biography of Gas Industry the nineteenth-century political J. D. Steelman, Jr. leader, written by Ellen With natural gas deregulation, Garwood. producers and distributors are becoming more responsive to 238 Other Books consumer needs. "Democratick Editorials: Essays in Jacksonian Political 222 Why Regulators Can't Regulate Economy" edited by William Effectively Leggett. "The Economist of the E. C. Pasour, Jr. Country: Ludwig von Mises in Economic planners are doomed the History of Monetary to disappointment because of Thought" by James Rolph incentive and information Edwards. problems.

THEFREEMAN IDEAS ON LIBERTY Published by The Foundation for Economic Education Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 President of the Board: Robert D. Love Vice-President of Operations: Robert G. Anderson Senior Editors: Beth A. Hoffman Brian Summers Editorial Adviser: Paul L. Poirot Book Review Editor: Edmund A. Opitz Contributing Editors: Howard Baetjer Jr. Bettina Bien Greaves Gregory F. Rehmke Joan Kennedy Taylor The Freeman is the monthly publication of The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 (914) 591-7230. FEE, founded in 1946 by Leonard E. Read, is a nonpolitical educational cham pion of private property, the free market, and limited government. FEE is classified as a 26 USC 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization. Other officers of FEE's Board of Trustees are: Bruce M. Evans, chairman; Thomas C. Stevens, vice-chairman; Joseph E. Coberly, Jr., vice-president; Don L. Foote, secretary; Lovett C. Peters, treasurer.

The costs of Foundation projects and services are met through donations. Donations are in vited in any amount. Subscriptions to The Freeman are available to any interested per son in the United States for the asking. Single copies $1.00; 10 or more, 50 cents each. For foreign delivery, a donation of $10.00 a year is required to cover direct mailing costs. Copyright © 1986 by The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. Permission is granted to reprint any article in this issue, except "Inflation and Unemploy ment," provided appropriate credit is given and two copies of the reprinted material are sent to The Foundation. Bound volumes of The Freeman are available from the Foundation for calendar years 1969 to date. Earlier volumes as well as current is sues are available on microfilm from Univer sity Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. The Freeman considers unsolicited editorial submissions, but they must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Our author's guide is available on request.

PERSPECTIVE EssayContestWinners FEE has long been dedicated to helping people improve their under standing of the freedom philosophy, and their ability to express it in the modern idiom. In this issue of The Freeman, we are proud to present the first fruits of a new endeavor to this end-the first-place essays from the 1985-86 FEE student essay contest, "Foundations of a Free Society." Contestants were asked to "present the positive case for individual liberty and responsibility in a free economy," choosing whatever subject matter they wished within that concept. Accord ingly they addressed a wide variety of topics, from abstract themes such as the proper role of government, the meaning of freedom, and the morality of capitalism, to such topical issues as private vs. "public" charity, the prob lems with American agriculture, and international trade. The contest drew 184 entries from 36 states, Canada, Argentina, and South Africa. California, Florida, Texas, and Virginia were most heavily represented (thanks, in part, to the promotion efforts of FEE supporters there). Of these papers, 110 came from high school students; 74 from college undergraduates. They were carefully judged by the FEE senior staff.

The main value of such a contest is to provide students with the oppor tunity and incentive to discipline their thoughts on liberty into written form. Also it helps FEE' identify bright young people with a commitment to liberty, whose development we can as sist. We have invited the five top en trants from each division to FEE sum mer seminars at our expense. For the award winners, of course, there is also the benefit of the awards themselves: $1000 to Sarah Lindsey in the high school division, and $500 to second place winner Mary Jane Massey and $2000 to Peter Heinecke in the college division, and $1000 to second-place winner John Majewski. A particular benefit for The Freeman is that the contest has been a source of fine ar ticles. We hope our readers will enjoy the work of Sarah Lindsey and Peter Heinecke published herein, and a number of other excellent articles to be published in forthcoming issues.

-HB A LittleTrust According to newspaper reports, the Greek economy is in a shambles. The government is spending beyond its means, inflating the currency, and borrowing overseas to pay its bills. Prices are rising about 20 per cent each year. Socialist Prime Minister An dreas Papandreou professes to favor "reasonable" profits, but business men don't trust him. Businessmen who want to expand their enterprises hesitate because of state control of some industries, state support of others, and the ever-pres ent threat of increased state regula tion. One successful Greek business man has rejected the prospect of expanding, saying: "If you expand, you hire more people and you have less control over your business. You can't give your people raises and you can't fire them." (Wall Street Jour nal, March 28, 1986) When government policies lead to economic stagnation, critics blame it on the people, saying they lack en ergy, initiative, and skills. However, a successful Greek manufacturer of farm machinery, who has turned down the thought of expanding because of the prospects of direct state compe tition, has a different interpretation: "People say there's no money in Greece. I disagree. People say there's no management skills. I disagree.

People say there's no initiative here. I disagree. There's only one thing lacking here, and that's trust." Many countries now suffer from the same "disease" as Greece-economic stagnation, .government intervention, and inflation. It's not that the people lack energy, ingenuity, or skills, but that they lack the confidence which comes from knowing that government will not place obstacles in their way. '-BBG Let's Pretend It's a Barnum and Bailey world. At least it is in New York City's South Bronx, where local officials have pasted decals over the windows of abandoned apartments. The decals, paid for by a $300,000 Federal grant, depict curtains, shades, shutters, and flower pots. To a passerby, it almost looks as if the buildings are inhabited. But, tragically, these buildings aren't inhabited. Forty years of rent control, combined with escalating taxes, have forced New York land lords to abandon thousands of apart ments. In the real world, landlords respond to economic incentives-a fact which no amount of decals can paste over.

FEE Columns In the past few years, articles and reviews by FEE staff members have appear'ed in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, New York Tribune, The In dianapolis Star, The Register, and dozens of other newsp~pers around the country. In coming months, we will be circulating articles from The Freeman and other FEE publications on a more regular basis. If you see one of our articles in your local paper, we would appreciate it if you would send us a clipping. ReprintsAvailable We are pleased to offer reprints of John W. Sommer's article, "Disasters Unlimited," which appeared in the April Freeman. We also have reprints of James L. Payne's "It's Not Our Money," which appears on page 213 of this issue. Prices are 50¢ each or 25¢ each on orders for 10 or more. PERSPECTIVE 204 THEFREEMAN IDEAS ON LIBERTY The Fallacyof ComparableWorth Why the marketbest determines wages. by Peter S. Heinecke P ersonal freedom forms the basis of the American political system. Since the founding of our nation, politicians and activists have valiantly fought for freedom of speech, the press, and religion. Yet, one freedom, economic freedom, has been consistently ignored or underestimated. Particularly in recent years, those in power have been willing to abridge economic liberty in attempts to remold society in their vision.