My Articles in The Freeman, 1967-1996
My first nationally published article was in The Freeman, which was published monthly by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). The article appeared in February 1967.
The editor, Dr. Paul Poirot (puROWE), paid by the word. I think I was paid two cents a word. I was in graduate school. I needed money. So, I wrote long articles. Producers respond to incentives.
He was a great editor to work with. He either accepted an article or sent it back without comment. If I did not add subheads, he did. I learned to use subheads.
The magazine was targeted to non-economists: high school students and teachers, businessmen, and housewives. My articles often had footnotes. My article was usually the most academic of the articles published in any issue.
I continued writing for The Freeman until 1996. After this, my articles were always rejected. I was never told why. I stopped submitting them.
This was what made FEE unique. It moved economic theory from presumed ethical neutrality to self-conscious morality.... keep reading
This was my first nationally published article. It was a turning point in my life.... keep reading
Back when Karem Abdul-Jabbar was a Catholic known as Lew Alcindor, I wrote this.... keep reading
Marx wrote before the marginalist/subjectivist revolution in economic thought in the early 1870's. He got things wrong.... keep reading
Central banks always intervene with fiat money inflation. This leads to the next depression.... keep reading
It's not a good idea to throw good money after bad. Here's why.... keep reading
Gold does not have intrinsic value. It has historic value. Karl Marx was wrong.... keep reading
I wrote this in 1969. The USA was still on the gold exchange standard. The United States Treasury bought dollars with its gold reserves at $35/oz. That ended on August 15, 1971, when Nixon unilaterall... keep reading
If we live on a spaceship, we need a captain with the power of life and death. That's why startists love the mythology of spaceship earth.... keep reading
Bureaucrats try to make the economy in their image.... keep reading
It was old news in 1971. It is ancient history today. It is far worse today. Graduate students are blind to economic reality.... keep reading
The earlier a child knows the difference between "mine" and "yours," the better.... keep reading
