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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
The Latest on the Supreme Court's DEI Hire
Mar 31, 2026
The Latest on the Supreme Court's DEI Hire
Mar 31, 2026

Dumb as a box of rocks.

Mar 31, 2026
Honored by the Left, Wrong on Everything
Mar 17, 2026
Honored by the Left, Wrong on Everything
Mar 17, 2026

Paul Ehrlich: Time and again, he predicted doom on the assumption that humanity is a plague on the Earth.

Mar 17, 2026
New York Times Retracts Story Due to Several Accuracies
Mar 16, 2026
New York Times Retracts Story Due to Several Accuracies
Mar 16, 2026

The Babylon Bee reports that at publishing time, sources revealed that The New York Times had already fired one of its lead journalists for inadvertently reporting a true story.

Mar 16, 2026

Recent Quotes

Featured
Murphy on America
Feb 11, 2025
Murphy on America
Feb 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.

Feb 11, 2025
Mill on Freedom
Feb 1, 2025
Mill on Freedom
Feb 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.”

Feb 1, 2025
Best-Selling Japanese Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa on Do-Gooders
Mar 20, 2023
Best-Selling Japanese Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa on Do-Gooders
Mar 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.

Mar 20, 2023

Recent Blogs

Featured
Order "I, Smartphone" on Amazon today for under $5.00!
Mar 30, 2026
Order "I, Smartphone" on Amazon today for under $5.00!
Mar 30, 2026

Drawing on economics, history, and everyday examples, this essay traces the vast web of knowledge, skills, incentives, and price signals that make the smartphone possible. From rare earth minerals mined across continents to cutting-edge design, testing, manufacturing, and distribution, I, Smartphone shows how billions of independent decisions—made without central direction—come together through the miracle of the free market.

Mar 30, 2026
Jesus was a Socialist? That's a Lie
Mar 25, 2026
Jesus was a Socialist? That's a Lie
Mar 25, 2026

This interview, aside from addressing the question, “Was Jesus a Socialist?” also touches on events in Poland, Argentina, and Brazil. Published by “Speak Freely” on March 19, 2026.

Mar 25, 2026
Remembering Rostropovich
Mar 24, 2026
Remembering Rostropovich
Mar 24, 2026

One of the 20th Century’s giants of both music and freedom.

Mar 24, 2026