The Selling of Freedom; D. L. Peterson

Every believer and practitioner of the free dom philosophy is, whether or not he or she recognizes the fact, a salesman for those be liefs. Some individuals are good salesmen, some are mediocre salesmen, and others are downright poor salesmen. Those of us who sin cerely want to be "supersalesmen" for freedom would do well to periodically review our sales strategies and practices. The effective selling of freedom requires that we develop and incorpo rate certain essential sales qualities. The degree of our success is determined by how closely we follow these time-tested qualities. Methodology The most lasting method of selling the ideas of freedom is through positive education. As the editors of The Freeman have stated, "Though a necessary part of the literature of freedom is the exposure of collectivistic cliches Mr. Peterson is a freelance writer in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. and fallacies, our aim is to emphasize and ex plain the positive case for individual responsi bility and choice in a free economy. Especially important, we believe, is the methodology of freedom: self-improvement, offered to others who are interested. We try to avoid name calling and personality clashes and find satire of little use as an educational tool."

The freedom philosophy cannot be forced on anyone. Others must recognize for themselves the advantages of freedom and choose it volun tarily. As the late Leonard E. Read wrote in his essay "On Improving the World" (reprinted in The Freeman, November 1983), " ... the practice of freedom cannot depend on coercion. When it comes to influencing another to think and act creatively, to help advance another's understanding, one is limited to the power of attraction." Many well-intentioned freedom-lovers are too impatient, however, to wait for this "posi tive attraction" strategy to bring results. Like their socialist opponents, they want immediate results. Consequently, they sometimes turn to political actions that bring either short-term so lutions or-far worse-total disillusionment among the waverers. Their "action strategy" tends to lead to confrontation and alienation rather than to conversion, acceptance, and posi tive long-lasting change. As William Penn wrote in Fruits of Solitude (1693), "Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers."

Tolerance One characteristic which should always dis tinguish the salesman of freedom from the spokesman for socialism is a tolerance of and respect for contrary views and opinions. It is this quality which enables one to debate an op ponent without "losing his cool" and without fear that the truth will lose its credibility.

Thomas Jefferson recognized the power and resilience of truth and the need for tolerance of opposing and even false views. "Error of opin ion may be tolerated," he said, "where reason is left free to combat it." The need for such tolerance does not diminish if only a few people-even seemingly insignifi cant and noninfluential ones-hold a minority viewpoint. "If all mankind minus one were of one opinion and only one person were of the contrary opinion," John Stuart Mill argued in his essay On Liberty, "mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind." Example In the world of business, consumers are more easily convinced to buy a product if the seller uses it himself. The satisfaction evident from the use of his own product will often produce the enthusiasm and conviction required for him to close the sale.

In our attempts to sell freedom, we should consistently practice the principles we espouse and defend. If we say we believe in a balanced budget and fiscal responsibility for govern ment, we should insist on such practices in our own finances. If we preach rule by law, we should obey the law. Our primary task as sales men of freedom is to persuade, not by conflict or coercion but by precept and example. As Leonard Read wrote in The Path of Duty, "Let each become an exemplar of freedom." Knowledge Every effective salesman knows his product like the back of his hand. He knows its weak nesses as well as its strengths, its limitations as well as its capabilities. He will anticipate both the reactions and the objections of his pros pects. And, most important of all, he will never stop learning about his product, his customers, and his strategies. Similarly, we proponents of freedom must be perpetual students of our philosophy. Rather than claiming to be the sole possessors of truth, we should readily admit our relative ignorance and eagerly seek to learn more. Anything we 325 might know about the theory and practice of freedom is infinitesimal in comparison to the vast amount out there yet to be known.

Repetition As a teacher I learned that one cannot expect all students to grasp a fact or concept when it is initially presented. Information must be re peated until the student understands. But the student's ability to regurgitate a fact or concept does not mean that he or she has "learned." The information must be acted upon and be come a part of each individual's life. The salesmen of freedom cannot afford to be satisfied with giving their "sales pitch" just once. In order for it to be accepted and applied, it must be repeated to each new generation. And even those who have already heard it need to be reminded every so often. Statist propaganda so dominates the media today that we sometimes begin either to believe it ourselves or to think that we are the sole surviving freedom-lovers. Optimism Lord Beaverbrook wrote in The Three Keys to Success, ". . . salesmanship requires, above all, the spirit of optimism."

Perhaps one of the greatest weaknesses of those who oppose statism in favor of individ ualism is the tendency to be pessimistic con cerning the prospects for a return to freedom. I must admit that I, too, at times succumb to this temptation. What we must remember, however, is that few people are willing to embrace as their own any philosophy whose advocates are pessimistic or unenthusiastic. They choose rather to follow a path of optimism, a way that is promising and hope-inspiring. In their attempts to alert others to the dangers of statism, many freedom-lovers unwittingly exude an air of doom, despair, and depression. Of all people, it is we-those who have experi enced, both personally and vicariously, the promise and prosperity of freedom and individ ualism-who should be spreading such hope and positive expectation that others are magnet ically attracted to freedom's way. Jesse Stuart, famous writer and teacher from the hills· and one-room schoolhouses of Ken326 THE FREEMAN • SEPTEMBER 1986 Exchanging ideas on the freedom philosophy during a FEE seminar.

tucky, recognized the infectious nature of en thusiasm in his teaching. He wrote in The Thread That Runs So True, ". . . when I am enthusiastic about my teaching, (the students) are enthusiastic. When I am depressed, they seem to be that way, too. Their feelings seem to rise as high as my feelings are high or as low as mine are low. Therefore I have tried to be as enthusiastic as I can about any subject I teach. " Moral Principles No theory or doctrine long survives unless it has as its foundation sound moral principles and absolute truth. Possession of correct economic or governmental principles, in particular, is practically impossible without first having a firm foundation of morality. During the past two decades, a philosophy of amorality has gained wide acceptance. This er roneous philosophy holds that there are no ab solute moral values or principles. The only mo rality is that held by each individual, and since each individual views things differently, no sin gle moral value can be the same for everyone.

This amorality promotes a hedonistic, end justifies-the-means way of life. It leads eventu ally to both economic and political as well as moral decay. In a nation with a diversity of moral and reli gious views, where guarantees against the es tablishment of a single state religion are built into the political structure, it is impossible to dictate matters of conscience. But there are nonetheless certain principles of morality that are generally held by all reasonable citizens. Most religions of the world, for example, teach the sanctity of human life, therefore we have laws against murder. Private property is another widely accepted principle, therefore we have laws against burglary, theft, and embezzle ment. Perhaps the two greatest statements of moral principle are the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. While these are generally associ ated with the Judeo-Christian heritage, they are applicable to and effective in all societies will ing to test them. It is significant that throughout human history there has always been a close as sociation in economically and politically free nations between their commitment to these moral principles and their economic, cultural, and political success and prosperity.

Among the salesmen of freedom, this promo tion of morality is best accomplished by the ex emplary life of each individual. Actions truly speak louder than words. As someone once wrote, "I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day." Students of liberty have an excellent "prod uct": personal, economic, and political free dom. Our methods are time-tested and effec tive: positive education and worthy examples. The only thing we need is more good salesmen. Are you such a person? Will you do your part to fill this need? 0 MelDories of the 1923 German Inflation by Edgar Bissantz F or decades prior to World War I, the German mark enjoyed a relatively stable exchange rate of about 24 cents against the u.S. dollar. However, during the war, the German government paid its bills by printing large quantities of marks. Because of the result ing inflation, by the war's end in 1918 the mark had fallen to about six cents against the dollar.