February

93 Land Control as Mind Control by John Chodes The federal government's policies concerning supposed Southern racism at the end of the Civil War directly relate to contemporary infringements on property rights. A Matter of Principle: To Educate-Or Legislate? by Robert James Bidinotto We still have much persuading to do before citizens accept our ultimate vision of a totally free society. Self-Control, Not Gun Control by Catherine Farmer Preserving Second Amendment rights. The Last Experiment by Joseph E. Petta Prospects for economic freedom in Alaska. The Real Reason Welfare Should End by Michael Levin Forced philanthropy is a moral outrage. The Population Bomb: Exploding the Myth by Felix Livingston Solving the real population problem. Pro Sports on the Dole by Raymond J. Keating Government subsidies at taxpayers' expense. Religion's Modern Witch Hunt by Charles Dickson Churches versus major American corporations.

Full EmploymentA Lesson from the Deserts of Saudi Arabia by Keith Wade The true minimum wage is nothing at all. Ending the "Crayfish Syndrome" by Ralph R. Reiland Common sense solutions from rural Mississippi. The Educational Octopus by Mark J. Perry Public schools, like all socialist undertakings, are doomed to eventual failure. Economics on Trial: Who's Right About Hayek? by Mark Skousen Austrians versus monetarists. Book Reviews Ralph Raico reviews The Soviet Tragedy: A History of Socialism in Russia, 1917-1991 by Martin Malia and Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime by Richard Pipes; Classics in Austrian Economics, 3 volumes edited by Israel M. Kirzner, reviewed by Peter J. Boettke; The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators: Facts and Figures on the State of American Society by William J. Bennett, reviewed by Wesley Allen Riddle. lOS 130 124 121 132 103 112 119 114 111 126 107 THEFREEMAN IDEASON UBERTY Published by The Foundation for Economic Education Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 Phone (914) 591-7230 FAX (914) 591-8910 President: Hans F. Sennholz ManagingEditor: Beth A. Hoffman GuestEditor: Edmund A. Opitz Editor Emeritus Paul L. Poirot Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Book Review Editor Robert Batemarco Marymount College, Tarrytown, New York AssociateEditors John Chamberlain Cheshire, Connecticut Bettina Bien Greaves Resident Scholar, FEE Edmund A. Opitz Chatham, Massachusetts Columnists Robert James Bidinotto Staff Writer, Reader's Digest Lawrence W. Reed Mackinac Center for Public Policy Midland, Michigan Mark Skousen Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida Contributing Editors Charles W. Baird California State University, Hayward Doug Bandow Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.

E. Calvin Beisner Covenant College, Chattanooga, Tennessee Peter J. Boettke New York University Donald J. Boudreaux Clemson University Clarence B. Carson American Textbook Committee Wadley, Alabama Thomas J. DiLorenzo Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland Joseph S. Fulda New York, New York Roger W. Garrison Auburn University Robert Higgs The Independent Institute, Oakland, California John Hospers University of Southern California Los Angeles, California Tibor R. Machan Auburn University Ronald Nash Reformed Theological Seminary Maitland, Florida James L. Payne Sandpoint, Idaho William H. Peterson Washington, D.C. Jane S. Shaw PERC, Bozeman, Montana Richard H. Timberlake University of Georgia Lawrence H. White University of Georgia 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 non-political, educa tional champion of private property, the free market, and limited government. FEE is classified as a 26 USC 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Copyright © 1995 by The Foundation for Economic Education. Permission is granted to reprint any article in this issue, provided appropriate credit is given and two copies of the reprinted material are sent to The Foundation. The costs of Foundation projects and services are met through donations, which are invited in any amount. Donors of$30.00 or more receive a subscriptionto TheFreeman. Student subscriptionsare $10.00 for the nine-month academic year; $5.00 per semester. Additional copies of singleissues of The Freeman are $2.00.For foreign delivery, a donation of $40.00a year is suggested to cover mailingcosts. Bound volumes of The Freeman are available from The Foundation for calendar years 1972to date. The Freeman is available in microform from University Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI48106. PERSPECTIVE FEE in Eastern Europe In the autumn of 1994, FEE's President, Dr. Hans Sennholz, sent me to Eastern Europe on behalf of FEE. I visited Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. These countries of Eastern Europe had been devastated and impoverished for decades by the Commu nist regime. For 45 years the inhabitants had lived under the control of the U.S.S.R. Most of the people have forgotten what it means to be individually responsible. They expect government to make decisions for them, to provide them with housing, jobs, and med ical care. Since the dramatic rejection of Communism in 1989, however, their people have been trying to decide how best to transform their old command economies into private property orders. That is why Dr. Sennholz sent me to Eastern Europe; he wanted me to tell them about the Foun dation, The Freeman, and FEE's other publications so as to give them some help in learning about private property, individual rights, savings, investment, and entrepre neurship.

My entree in each country was through individuals who were already familiar with the Foundation and who could arrange for me to meet and speak with like-minded persons. I met informally with small groups and I gave lectures. I spoke to some groups in English, to others sentence-by-sentence through interpreters. I talked about a broad range of subjects-what is necessary for economic development, what people living in the formerly Communist countries could learn from the United States, and what they should not learn from the United States. I talked about the free market, about gov ernment regulations, and inflation. And at two collegesI spoke to classes on the history of economic thought about the Austrian "school" of economics and Ludwig von Mises. The people in the Eastern European coun tries I visited have many of the same com plaints as we do in the United States. They are saddled with high taxes, burdensome 66 controls, costly government pension schemes, and central banks that consider inflation and/or credit expansion the proper way to meet the government's expenses.

The message I tried to present in the coun tries of Eastern Europe I visited was that they should avoid copying the big govern ment spending programs that have led to these consequences in the United States. On the other hand, they should do their best to limit the role of government and adopt the principles of individual freedom and per sonal responsibility which fostered eco nomic development and technological im provement here in the United States. The people of Eastern Europe should come to recognize the importance of pro tecting private property and private volun tary contracts. They should create an eco nomic climate in which people will feel relatively secure so that they will be willing to work, not only to produce enough to survive, but to produce more, so as to save and invest. Generally speaking, people in the United States have felt relatively confi dent that their property would be protected and that they would be free to use the products oftheir efforts as they chose. Thus, they were encouraged to be industrious.

Entrepreneurs dared to innovate, experi ment, and take risks in the hope of profit. The economic and technological develop ment of the United States has been the result of decades of accumulated savings and in vestments by many persons and ofcountless enterprises undertaken by many entrepre neurs. Now that these Eastern European coun tries are on their own, they have a chance for economic recovery. It is essential that the people come to recognize the importance of protecting private property. Individuals who own property can become indepen dent, responsible for themselves and their 67 PERSPECTIVE families, and need not rely on government to supply their needs. The people must ask their governments to replace the old Com munist controls and regulations with a legal andjudicial system recognizing and protect ing private property and contracts. Indi viduals should be free otherwise to live as they wish, to pursue their own peaceful ends and to cooperate and trade voluntarily with others.

The governments of the countries of the old Communist bloc have removed some of the old interferences and controls on eco nomic activity, and government enterprises are being partially denationalized. These changes have opened up some opportunities which individuals have been pursuing. Some entrepreneurs are daring to undertake new ventures. Small private shops now line the streets of many cities. Fresh produce is regularlybrought to city markets from far off places. More trades are taking place across national borders and foreigners are begin ning to invest in these countries. Billboards advertise foreign products, even cat and dog food. And TV satellite dishes may be seen anchored on the roofs and balconies of many high-rise apartments. As more im ports appear on the market, workers will have more incentive to produce, and pro ducers will have to enhance the quality of their exports, so as to compete in world markets. Yet much remains to be done, primarily in changing the attitudes of the people. Few realize what it means to be fully responsible for themselves and their fami lies; most of them still expect government to take care of their basic needs. Neverthe less, if the countries of Eastern Europe can continue to move toward creating an eco nomic climate that fosters individual initia tive they will be on the road to economic recovery.

-BETTINA BIEN GREAVES THEFREEMAN IDEASON UBERTY Should Star Trek Be·Regulated as a Monopoly? by Gary North T he announcement in 1993that Star Trek: The Next Generation would have only one more season of new shows was the equivalent of a photon torpedo blast into the lives of millions of fans. Well, maybe it was only a phaser set on "stun," but the news was not well received. Even Jonathan Frakes, the actor who plays William Riker, the second in command on The Enterprise, complained in a televised interview that he did not understand why a successful series was being canceled. The answer is clear: because it was not merely a successful series. It was the suc cessful dramatic TV series of all time, a show possessing what has been described as a cult followingthe largest entertainment cult on earth. For almost three decades, Star Trek fans have invested money, time, and imagination in a fantasy world created on screen. The three-part entrepreneurial ques tion that the show's producers face is this: How much money? How much time? How large a screen?