April

IDEAS ON LIBERTY 124 The AdvanceGuard of Freedom AndrewE. Barniskis The 40-somethinggenerationworksto bringAmericaback to freedom. 126 EdwinArmstrong:Geniusof FM Radio JorgeAmador HowFM radio was nearlykilledat birth by a combinationof fearfulcompetitors and government. 131 FreeingDigitalAudio JeffA. Taylor Solvingtechnologydisputeswithoutgovernmentintervention. 133 Dmgs and Dumbness ScottC. Matthew What a sad worldthiswouldbe if everythingthat the majoritythoughtwas foolishwere also illegal. 134 TrickleUp: A Solutionto Third WorldPoverty BarbaraSall Recognizingthe abilityof the poor to work hard and lead productivelives. 137 The Great 19th-CenturyTunber Heist Revisited T. J. IijimaandJane S. Shaw The reasonsfor harvestingvaststandsof Great Lakestimber and the benefits that resulted. 142 Let the Market Protect ConsumerSafety John Hood SweepingFederal mandateshave hurt consumers,impairedproduct development,and failedat promotingsafety.

144 Israel'sGrassrootsLibertarianRevolution Sam Lehman-Wi/zig How the Israelipublichas forcedthe government'shand. 149 The "Earmarked Money" musion WilliamB. Irvine It is rarelypossiblefor a governmentto earmark revenuefor a particularpurpose. 151 AnimalRightsAre an IndividualResponsibility CherryHill Animalcare, handling,and trainingtechniquesare a matter of personaland professionalethics. 157 Book Reviews John ChamberlainreviewsThe VermontPapers:RecreatingDemocracyon a Human Scaleby Frank Bryanand John McClaughry.Alsofeatured: Taxpayers in Revolt:Tax ResistanceDuringthe GreatDepressionby DavidT. Beito,and The EnigmaofJapanesePowerby Karelvan Wolferen. CONTENTS APRIL 1990 VOL. 40 NO.4 THEFREEMAN IDEAS ON LIBERTY Published by The Foundation for Economic Education Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 President of The Board: Bruce M. Evans Vice-President: Robert G. Anderson Senior Editors: Beth A. Hoffman Brian Summers Contributing Editors: Bettina Bien Greaves Edmund A. Opitz Paul L. Poirot Copy Editor: Deane M. Brasfield 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 champion 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: Thomas C. Stevens, chairman; Ridgway K. Foley, Jr., vice chairman; Paul L. Poirot, secretary; Don L. Foote, Treasurer. The costs of Foundation projects and services are met through donations. Donations are invited in any amount. Subscriptions to The Freeman are available to any interested person in the United States for the asking. Additional single copies $1.00; 10 or more, 50 cents each. For foreign delivery, a donation of $15.00 a year is required to cover direct mailing costs. Copyright © 1990 by The Foundation for Eco nomic Education, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. Permission is granted to reprint any article in this issue except" Animal Rights Are an Indi vidual Responsibility," 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 1971 to date. Earlier volumes as well as current issues 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. FAX: (914) 591-8910 122 PERSPECTIVE Apartheid:War on Capitalism The whole ugly history of apartheid has been an attack on free markets and the rights of indi viduals, and a glorification of centralized govern ment power. In 1900 when South African Prime Minister Jan Christiaan Smuts said, "It is ordained that we [Afrikaners], insignificant as we are, should be amongst the first people to begin the struggle against the new world tyranny of capitalism," he was recognizing that free markets along with their inherent dispersion of power have little respect for race. Therefore, South Africa declared war on capitalism. Now-in order to promote tranquility, dignity for the indi vidual, and prosperity for all-South Africa's people must strengthen its beleaguered market forces, and declare war against centralized gov ernment power.

-WALTERE. WILLIAMS South Africa's War againstCapitalism JackieRobinson One of the central myths of the modem age is the belief that politics is the arena for effective social action, and for the advancement of causes. To the contrary, however, politics only adopts causes which have already gained popularity or success,and then often does harm to them. . . . The civil rights issue is a case in point. Before it ever became a political issue, countless num bers of successful black businessmen, clerks, scholars, and others were winning victories, each in their sphere. They won respect and established beachheads ina variety of areas. Perhaps the two most important men in gain ing civil and societal freedom for blacks were [Brooklyn Dodgers president] Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. The two men broke down the barriers in perhaps the most rigidly segregat ed aspect of American life, baseball. When Rick ey first talked to Robinson [in 1945],he told him, "I need more than a great player. I need a man who will accept insults, take abuse, in a word, car ry the flag for his race. I want a man who has the courage not to fight, not to fight back. . . . Can you do that?" Robinson thought it over and answered finally, "If you want to take this gamble, I promise you there'll be no incidents." By 1949,Robinson had made his case....

There is no national holiday for Jackie Robin son, but it was his character and action on center stage that changed the United States. Only some years later did political figures get on the band wagon, dramatize the issue, and claim to have changed America. -R. J. RUSHDOONY,writing in the Winter 1989issue of Lincoln Review The Functionof Government The main problem of the market, the main problem of human cooperation, is the fact that there are people who resort to violent action, who do not comply with the rules that are neces sary for the preservation and operation of the market. In order to prevent this violent action, in order to make possible the workings of the mar ket, of human cooperation, of human society,it is necessary to have an institution that protects the market against violence, against people who lack the knowledge or the will to comply with the rules of peaceful exchange of commodities and services. This is the function of government.

-LUDWIG VON MISES, speaking at The Foundation for Economic Education, February 22, 1969 CambodianCatharsis At the time of the Vietnamese invasion little more than a decade ago, this city [Phnom Penh] was a ghost town. The Khmer Rouge were oust ed and the mass killing ended, but Cambodia was still governed by a Communist government. Such regimes produce little economic growth in peace time, let alone during civil war, so I had mentally prepared myself for a city livingin the stone age. In spite of all that was depressing, the big news in Cambodia is the revival of life, the reconstruc tion of markets and economic activity.Progress is palpable, even astonishing. A French relief work er told me that since the government began implementing "free market" reforms a few years ago, the progress has come "almost hourly." Indeed, as the Vietnamese pull out and their PERSPECTIVE influence in the Cambodian government wanes, Cambodians more and more are putting markets in charge of the economy. Agriculture has been largely de-socialized; farms are now chiefly in pri vate hands, by either lease or outright private ownership.

There are no price controls, no wage restric tions, almost no controls over the movement of people and capital, no rationing and lines of peo ple in front of stores. Having just visited the Sovi et Union for a fourth time days before arriving in Phnom Penh, I found myself thinking how envi ous my friends in Moscow would be if they could see the variety and abundance of goods in Phnom Penh's markets. . . . By the end of my stay, I was asking people to tell me just what was Communist about Cambo dia anymore. Aside from the one-party political monopoly, the country is relying substantially on free enterprise to direct everyday life. Even for mer beggars, I was advised, are getting into busi ness. -LAWRENCE REED, reporting on his August 1989trip to Cambodia, in the September 17, 1989, Idaho Press-Tribune The Powerof Choice High levels of productive employment and free competition are the best guarantors of con sumers' and workers' rights. With plenty of jobs to choose from, a worker can decide to leave an unfair employer and work for a better one. But state-owned industry is a monopoly. In India, 67 percent of legal employment belongs to the pub lic sector. Disgruntled government workers have few choices except to resort to frequent strikes.

Blind economic nationalism keeps foreign cap ital, technology, and products out of India and restricts competition. Indian economists never talk about the loss of jobs when a foreign corpo ration gets kicked out of the country. They forget that competition not only brings about efficiency, technological innovation, and effective use of limited resources, it gives real power of choice to workers and consumers. -RAYASAM \Z PRASAD Jonesboro, Georgia 123 124 THEFREEMAN IDEAS ON LIBERTY The Advance Guard of Freedom by Andrew E. Barniskis I was born a few weeks before the end .Of1945, which placed me just in front of the leading edge of the Baby Boom. While I may not meet the technical definition of a Baby Boomer, I feel that those of us who were born late in World War II and early in the postwar period have always formed the Advance Guard of the Baby Boom, and we have always set the pace that our younger brothers and sisters would follow.