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314 Charityin the Land of Individualism John D. Fargo True individualismand human benevolencetend to correlate. 316 Freedom and Majority Rule Edmund A. Opitz Concerningthe limitedrole of governmentin a free societyand the electionof officeholders. 323 A Future That ShouldHave Been Ours John C. Sparks Concerningfreedom, human progress,and a better life. 324 Three's a Crowd RobertZimmerman Most human interactionsdon't require governmentinterference. 326 Book Reviews John ChamberlainreviewsForgeof Unionby JeffreySt. John; alsofeatured: Liberty& Cultureby TIborR. Machan. CONTENTS AUGUST 1992 VOL. 42 NO.8 THEFREEMAN IDEASON LIBERTY Published by The Foundation for Economic Education Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 President: Hans F. Sennholz Editor: John W. Robbins Senior Editor: Beth A. Hoffman Contributing Editors: Bettina Bien Greaves Mark W. Hendrickson Edmund A. Opitz Editor Emeritus: 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. FEE, established in 1946 by Leonard E. Read, is a nonpolitical educational champion of private property, the free market, and limited govern ment. FEE is classified as a 26 USC 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization. Other officers of FEE's Board of Trustees are, Gregg C.

MacDonald, chairman; Lovett C. Peters, vice-chairman; Paul L. Poirot, secretary; Don L. Foote, treasurer. The costs of Foundation projects and services are met through donations. Donations are in vited in any amount. A subscription to The Freeman is available to any interested person in the United States for the asking. Addition al single copies $1.00; 10 or more, 50 cents each. For foreign delivery, a donation of $20.00 a year is required to cover direct mail ing costs. Copyright © 1992 by The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. Permission is granted to reprint any article in this issue except "Losing the Cold War" and "Three's a Crowd," 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 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. Phone: (914) 591-7230 FAX: (914) 591-8910 Cover art: Washington Post Writers Group PERSPECTIVE The Languageof Liberty The idea and practice of human liberty-reli gious, civil, political, and economic-have been perhaps the most important social contribution of Western culture, yet today the idea of liberty has been all but forgotten in public debate and in the corridors of power. When the language of liberty is stillheard, it has a quaint sound, the sound of a val ue now out of fashion. The language of liberty has been replaced by the language of power. One no longer hears pleas for liberty, but pleas for and promises of "empower ment." This rhetorical shift from liberty to power reflects a fundamental philosophical shift: No longer is our goal "liberty and justice for all," but power. The peaceful and benevolent cooperation of citizens has been largely replaced by the noisy and malevolent contention of factions, each of which is seeking power at the expense of others.

The consensus that formerly governed Ameri ca-the consensus that all men are created equal, and the purpose of government is to protect each personis disappearing. What the new consensus will be, we cannot as yet discern. But the new lan guage of power bodes ill for our future. When the language of liberty is infrequently spoken, and its sounds become unfamiliar to a people, the practice of liberty will pass away as well. -JOHN W. ROBBINS Efficiencyand Freedom Federal departments are not efficient, but probably the most inefficient things on the face of this planet. But if they were the most efficient agencies that history has ever seen, I should, in this field of education, be dead opposed to them. Efficiency in a good cause is good; but I am op posed to federal efficiency in this sphere because the result of it is a thing that I regard as bad-namely, slavery.And I am not inclined to do what a great many people do today; I am not in clined to write "freedom" in quotation marks as though it were sort of a joke. I believe, on the con trary, that it is something very real. An ounce of freedom is worth a pound of efficiency.

- J. GRESHAM MACHEN 290 LestWe Forget Did the Founders have to know economics to devise a system that raised the standard of livingin this country from the near-subsistence level of the colonial period to the prosperity of a leading nation of the world, all within the first century of our re public? No! Their vision was focused not on eco nomic considerations, but on securing individual liberty and individual rights. They established a carefully limited republic, thus freeing citizens from excessive government interference. For the first time in history liberty was validated as the in alienable birthright of an individual. What a step of faith the Founders demonstrated with their belief that free citizens operating under a system of moral law would exercise their freedom responsibly, and that this would work out for the general good. This is how a truly free-market economy devel ops; it is the outcome of the actions of people oper ating freely with one another, unhampered by gov ernment, nothing more, nothing less.This country's early amazing economy evolved as a by-product of establishing the righteous principle of freedom.

-RICHARD W. HOLDEN A MessageFrom a GreatGray Owl Who says people don't give a hoot about indi vidual liberty and responsibility anymore ? Judging by the spectacle of human initiative triggered by the appearance of a little creature from the wild in Jamestown, New York, Americans still have a feeling for the unregulated and the free. Why under the drab sky of winter would flocks of brightly dressed individuals, from babies in buntings, to young girls in leggings, to senior citi zens with canes, be streaming into a rough, wild forest? They'll tell you it's for a glimpse of a Great Gray Owl. Just two feet high, her tree-trunk colored form is nonetheless large compared to more common relatives, and her expression is ac centuated by big, sharp yellow eyes. Apparently PERSPECTIVE Miss Great Gray Owl is a rare sight this far south of her distant-north habitat. In quest of the owl, no one complains about brambles, slippery trails, gorges, and a host of other nuisances, which under different circumstances would callfor swiftremedial action from some Fed eral regulatory agency. In fact, the owl's visitors demonstrate an exuberance and openness that sug gests they are relishing the challenges.

Youths, parents, and elderly are not segregated into their respective educational or occupational categories. Side by side, they share the intrigue of discovery. No regulations advise us of Miss Gray Owl'svisitinghours, or tell us just how closewe may approach. There are no bans on rock-throwing, lit tering, or unnecessary noise, yet I haven't heard of anyone engaging in such practices. (Visitors re minding each other to keep quiet may, however, find their voices drowned out by the roar of an air plane taking off from the Chautauqua County Air port adjacent to the field.) Despite daunting creek crossings and old barbed-wire fences, there are no signs posted to warn us to proceed at our own risk, or that traveling beyond a particular point may be hazardous to life or limb. Nor are there any inspectors to make sure we keep each other safe, or child-welfare agents to warn parents not to climb banks or jump creeks with an infant in arms. In fact, the absence of re strictions seems to generate an attitude of respect and responsibility, as though everyone were anx ious to safeguard so pure and fragile a wilderness freedom.

Unwittingly, the Great Gray Owl provokes us to re-evaluate the risk-free world we have tried to construct around ourselves, and to reflect on the price of broad restrictions on risk-taking. In a so ciety where every other step you take brushes against legal requirements, it is refreshing to see people savor a taste of the raw, the "real" life. It's as though they're clinging to what remnants they can of a creed having to do with "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"-a creed which no one ever had to teach the Great Gray Owl. -HANNAH LAPP 291 THEFREEMAN IDEASON LIBERTY Losing the Cold War by Christopher Whalen "The creaturesoutsidelookedfrom pig to man, andfrom man to pig, andfrom pig to man again;but alreadyit was impossibleto say which was which." -GEORGE ORWELL Animal Farm J ust when the Cold War ended is a question historians will debate for years to come. The fall of the Berlin Wall is the obvious refer ence point, a powerful picture of the "collapse of Communism" eagerly seized by the media. Yetthe victory in Berlin obscured the high price over turning Communist rule would exact from the unique American political economy, and also exaggerated the extent of the triumph. The battle between entrenched Communist elites and the freed citizenry of Eastern Europe shows that top pling the Wall marked the beginning of a new struggle.