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Lawrence W. Reed

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I, Smartphone: Far Smarter Than You Ever Imagined →

October 30, 2025

You will be amazed at what goes into a handheld device that nearly everybody uses. Inspired by Leonard Read's famous piece, "I, Pencil," it will be a success if it becomes just a fraction of the classic Leonard's essay was.

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How Taft Got Its Name →

October 26, 2025

A stone’s throw from the Idaho line, the town was a large work camp without a name but with a notorious reputation. It was described by a Chicago Tribune reporter as “the wickedest city in America.” (Image credit to the great painter and sculptor, Charlie Russell.)

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The Velvet Glove and the Iron Fist

October 21, 2025

Power rots the soul. Rare is the individual who becomes a better person for having possessed it.

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A Better You, A Better World

October 20, 2025

In my mind, becoming a better person means striving to be a model in everything we do so that others will be inspired by our examples.

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For the Love of Critters

October 18, 2025

Few things anger me more than when an innocent animal is abused or neglected; such occasions make me wish I was a judge so I could throw the book at the guilty.

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Civil Society--America's Great Heritage

October 15, 2025

Genuine cultural progress occurs when individuals solve problems without resorting to politics or politicians.

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Remembering Leslie Delatour →

October 14, 2025

Nearly 40 years ago, I went to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to interview the Finance Minister, Leslie Delatour. He was one of the smartest people I ever met. Afterwards, I published this interview. His time in the job was short but he did the right thing, as you can see from his amazing insights in this interview (click on headline). Sadly, he died of cancer in 2001 at the age of 51.

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Big Government Equals Bad Government →

October 9, 2025

If you’ve supported the monstrous expansion of the federal government in recent decades, or if you’ve got a laundry list of things you want it to do because you think it’s not yet big enough, then don’t blow smoke about clean and honest politics. You’re part of the problem.

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Always Have Hope

October 7, 2025

Hope is a potent stimulant. Never, ever, let it slip away. No matter what.

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We Will Never Forget You, Pelé!

October 6, 2025

Born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music.

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Selective Sustainability

October 5, 2025

Leftists are awfully selective about what’s “sustainable” and what isn’t.

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Learning the Lessons from the Fall of Rome →

October 1, 2025

What can we learn from the experience of the Roman Republic? Delivered at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, on September 30, 2025.

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As Good As Any Man

September 28, 2025

She had overcome huge challenges and proved that a woman could be just as good in business as any man—and far better than those who defrauded her with their depreciating paper money.

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Hated by the Envious for Her Financial Genius

September 27, 2025

The City of New York on numerous occasions asked her for loans to keep the city from going broke.

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Happy Birthday, Sam Adams!

September 27, 2025

With America’s 250th anniversary now only ten months away, Samuel Adams is one of those exquisitely interesting Founding Fathers with whom Americans ought to become reacquainted.

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Faith in Free People →

September 26, 2025

In honor of Leonard E. Read’s 127th birthday—September 26, 2025.

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On Democracy, Republics, Rights, and the Founders

September 24, 2025

A pure democracy, even if possible, would quickly degenerate into the proverbial two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch. It is NOT what the Founders gave us.

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Hotbeds of Moral Cowardice

September 23, 2025

Never has mass lunacy been more expensive. Is it really higher education if it drags civilization ever lower?

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The Greed Tactic

September 21, 2025

Adding political power to natural self-interest is a surefire recipe for magnifying the harm that greed can do.

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Big Government Equals Bad Government

September 20, 2025

It would be inconceivable to our Founders that good and honest people could ever stay good and honest if they’re swiping and redistributing trillions of dollars every year and regulating almost every corner of life. That kind of power can make a sinner from a saint in no time.

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Recent “Best of Web”

Featured
Investors Force Uncle Sam to Confront Debt Addition
August 23, 2026
Investors Force Uncle Sam to Confront Debt Addition
August 23, 2026

Lawmakers marked the $40 trillion milestone by pointing fingers at each other while failing to look in the mirror and acknowledge their own culpability. Thanks to author Ryan Meilstrup for the shout-out in this article.

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August 23, 2026
The Age of Big Spending Republicans is Here
August 20, 2026
The Age of Big Spending Republicans is Here
August 20, 2026

Merrill Matthews writes, “Republicans used to be serious about controlling federal spending, but that was before Trump and the age of big-spending Republicans. We may soon find voters and the economy demanding they return to their conservative roots.”

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August 20, 2026
Making the Pregnant Woman Take the Stairs: The Problem with Minimum-Quality Regulation
August 11, 2026
Making the Pregnant Woman Take the Stairs: The Problem with Minimum-Quality Regulation
August 11, 2026

Raymond Niles asks, “Which apartment would you rather live in? One with a larger bedroom or a tiny bedroom, a large living room with a window that lets in natural sunlight, or a dingy room facing an air shaft? A tall skyscraper with an elevator, or a five-story walkup? A building with parking or one with no parking lot?”

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August 11, 2026

Recent Quotes

Featured
Murphy on America
February 11, 2025
Murphy on America
February 11, 2025

“The true meaning of America, you ask? It’s in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman’s badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper. ... In all these things, and many more, you’ll find America. In all these things, you’ll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world. And to me” — Actor, poet, and the most decorated American of World War II, Audie Murphy.

Read more →
February 11, 2025
Mill on Freedom
February 1, 2025
Mill on Freedom
February 1, 2025

“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.”

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February 1, 2025
Best-Selling Japanese Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa on Do-Gooders
March 20, 2023
Best-Selling Japanese Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa on Do-Gooders
March 20, 2023

“There’s nothing more frightening than a half-baked do-gooder who knows nothing of the world but takes it upon himself to tell the world what’s good for it — from his book, Musashi.

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March 20, 2023

Recent Blogs

Featured
How Principles, Faith & Courage Forged America
August 29, 2026
How Principles, Faith & Courage Forged America
August 29, 2026

Doug Stuart of the Libertarian Christian Institute interviews me on the key ideas, events, and people of the American Revolution.

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August 29, 2026
Telling the Story of America and Why Its Founding Was So Exceptional
August 28, 2026
Telling the Story of America and Why Its Founding Was So Exceptional
August 28, 2026

An interview (recorded August 21, 2026) on the Jenny Beth Show about Born of Ideas: How Principles, Faith, and Courage Forged America.

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August 28, 2026
Greg Maresca reviews my new book at American Thinker, Real Clear History, and Across Voices
August 24, 2026
Greg Maresca reviews my new book at American Thinker, Real Clear History, and Across Voices
August 24, 2026

Maresca writes, “Reed’s prose is direct and unpretentious writing with the clarity of someone who has spent decades lecturing about economics and history. His tone is heartfelt, patriotic and unapologetically celebratory of America’s founding ideals…In a time when historical memory is often lacking and politicized, Reed offers a refreshing reminder on how America was built on ideas worth knowing, debating and defending.” The book is available now on Amazon.

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August 24, 2026