Economic Freedom

By James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall As the country enters the final months of the presidential election season, candidates from both parties will promise policies that they claim will improve our standards of living. While the focus of the political debate will be on short-term economic recovery and jobs, the source of long-term prosperity is economic freedom. Economic freedom means people are free to choose, trade, compete, invest, and have the fruits of their labor protected against aggressors within a legal framework of equal treatment and minimal interference from government.

It is a seven-day celebration that is only 29 years old yet steeped in ancient African tradition, a festival of kinship that is spiritual yet not religious. Kwanzaa, a uniquely African American observance that begins annually on Dec. 26, crosses class and cultural lines, all the while reaffirming its seven basic principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, economic freedom, pride and purpose, creativity, and faith. Each day, one red, green or black candle is lit to reaffirm that day's principle as families exchange gifts and wish each other well in the coming year.

Doug DeVos, second-generation boss of consumer-marketing giant Amway and newly elected chairman of the National Constitution Center's executive board, sits at the center's Independence Mall headquarters, with its bronzes of the Founding Fathers in lifelike poses, and tells how the message of America's founding document isn't that different from what his company has found in its rapid expansion through Asia: "Economic freedom leads...

It took three years of planning and several deadline extensions, but organizers of a proposed black-controlled bank announced yesterday they have raised well over the $5 million needed to open the institution. "We have made economic history," said bank chairwoman and chief executive officer Emma C. Chappell during a news conference. "We are anxious now to open this financial institution and to begin playing a key role in the economic revitalization of our city. " Chappell and a small band of organizers - including many local clergymen - had imposed an April 30 deadline on themselves to raise the $5 million required by state regulators to open the United Bank of Philadelphia.

The passing of William F. Buckley Jr., 82, yesterday leaves the world of ideas a little less gracious, not as much fun, and woefully lacking in vocabulary skills. Buckley went from being almost a lone conservative voice in the post-World War II liberal wilderness, to the intellectual heart and soul of a movement that brought to power Reagan, Gingrich and Bush. Though there was one run for mayor of New York City in 1965, his influence came mostly from outside the political arena.

With testimony and tears, remembrance and regeneration, the nation honored the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. yesterday in ceremonies renewing his quest for personal freedoms with a quest for economic freedom. The celebration occurred in counterpoint to a continuing feud between his family and the National Park Service over who will preserve his memory and how. At Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King was pastor, Dexter Scott King vowed to continue his father's work by seeking economic opportunity - and used the occasion to comment on the conflict with park authorities.

I look forward to returning to the City of Brotherly Love tomorrow to share in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of our Constitution. Tomorrow, America's attention turns to Philadelphia. It should be a source of enormous pride to each of you that Philadelphia is where our Republic is rooted, where our Founding Fathers created the world's most enduring constitutional government. As Henry Clay observed: "The Constitution of the United States was made not merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity - unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.

Not long after the dominoes began falling in Eastern Europe, Playboy magazine bought a full-page ad in the New York Times to announce that it had become the first "American consumer magazine" to be published in Hungarian. Playboy said it was not surprised, "since we're the magazine that led a social revolution in America by standing for personal, political and economic freedom. " The headline on the ad read, "Exporting the American Dream. " More like a nightmare, since many of those who embraced the Playboy philosophy of "if it feels good, do it" have suffered broken marriages, unwanted pregnancies, abortion and AIDS.

Brenda Solomon thought she'd just be buying a piece of a bank - a bank owned and run by black Philadelphians. But the registered nurse was told last night that she'd actually be helping to finance "a revolution" by paying $500 for 50 shares of stock in United Bank of Philadelphia, whose founders hope to open on Jan. 2. "To those who want to burn stuff down and tear stuff up, I say, 'If you want to see a real revolution, build this bank,' "...

We got a letter from the President yesterday. It was on our front page. Smile and all. Like most Ronald Reagan's pronouncements, flowery phraseology ran amok, strangling any hints of substance. "Looking back, we see a system of government that has prospered because of the miracle that began with the words 'we the people,' ' the president writes, happy that he'll be in our city today to celebrate the Constitution's bicentennial. "We are an endless experiment in human freedom and unfettered opportunity," he continued.

By James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall As the country enters the final months of the presidential election season, candidates from both parties will promise policies that they claim will improve our standards of living. While the focus of the political debate will be on short-term economic recovery and jobs, the source of long-term prosperity is economic freedom. Economic freedom means people are free to choose, trade, compete, invest, and have the fruits of their labor protected against aggressors within a legal framework of equal treatment and minimal interference from government.

Doug DeVos, second-generation boss of consumer-marketing giant Amway and newly elected chairman of the National Constitution Center's executive board, sits at the center's Independence Mall headquarters, with its bronzes of the Founding Fathers in lifelike poses, and tells how the message of America's founding document isn't that different from what his company has found in its rapid expansion through Asia: "Economic freedom leads...

THIS CAMPAIGN season has been one of extremes: extreme candidates making extreme claims about what's wrong with the country and how to fix it. To us, the most extreme claim is that the government had no business spending $787 billion on the Recovery Act when the free market would have done a better job correcting the economic meltdown. Especially since the free, unregulated market helped cause the meltdown, triggered by banks that pushed toxic mortgages and then sold them bundled as securities.

Afghanistan may have mineral deposits worth more than $900 billion, according to a recent report - a fortune for the poverty-stricken nation. It is a fortune that is unlikely to be extracted to the benefit of the Afghan people. Without the rule of law and effective government institutions, the country will not see the massive investments in infrastructure and mining necessary to extract this mineral wealth. As economists from Milton Friedman to Mancur Olson have pointed out, the difference between rich and poor countries is not a matter of resources; it's a matter of institutions.

There is no shortage of viewpoints about how best to resolve the current economic crisis, and one nagging point of contention is the extent of the federal government's role. Will the stimulus package and industry bailouts move us closer to European democratic socialism, or are they temporary necessities to shore up U.S. capitalism? The debate over the role a central government should play in a capitalistic economy goes back to Adam Smith's masterwork, The Wealth of Nations, and has yet to be resolved.

The passing of William F. Buckley Jr., 82, yesterday leaves the world of ideas a little less gracious, not as much fun, and woefully lacking in vocabulary skills. Buckley went from being almost a lone conservative voice in the post-World War II liberal wilderness, to the intellectual heart and soul of a movement that brought to power Reagan, Gingrich and Bush. Though there was one run for mayor of New York City in 1965, his influence came mostly from outside the political arena.

The National Park Service has chosen a design for the memorial on the spot now known as the "President's House. " Before being known by that name, this site had been known for more than 200 years as the location of Robert Morris' mansion. Morris, often called the "Financier of the Revolution," helped form this nation's banking and defense systems. But he and his life's work of creating economic freedom for all Americans have been unceremoniously shoved aside. The planned memorial will not tell us about Morris' role in the origins of American-style free-market capitalism or his critical leadership of the Continental Navy during most of the Revolutionary War. We will not learn about his struggles to keep America together during Confederation.

Gary M. Galles is a professor of economics at Pepperdine University America celebrates our founders, who created the first government ever devoted to liberty. But we give too little credit to those who have defended the liberty they bequeathed us. Tomorrow, remember the 92d birthday of one particular defender of liberty - economist Milton Friedman. As Cato Institute founder Ed Crane put it: "When you ask which academic did the most to promote human liberty around the world during the 20th century, there is no debate.

THIS IS Philly - and it's the real world. We enjoy a high standard of living in this town because we are willing to fight to keep it. But we are capitalists, too. We want to raise a happy and healthy family. We would like to send our sons and daughters to college. We have lived here all our lives - we are not greedy or phony. We live the Philadelphia life, which has worked for us through the generations. Our "young, coolness factor" is real - it's our kids! Martin Cleary, Philadelphia Richard Borzillo's letter on "The Real World" was wrong on so many points I don't know where to start.

Stuart Diamond trots out the "root causes" argument (Commentary, Sept. 23), which is that no action can be taken until we eradicate poverty, disease and ignorance in the Third World. This is the same voice that said any limitation on welfare would result in more crime, more homelessness, and more starving children. It's the same voice that said you could not fight crime because the criminals are so devoid of hope that such measures as employed with amazing success by New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani would result only in more crime, more resentment, more desperation.