Quote of the day: Does the free market serve 'self-interest' or 'selfishness?'

"A common mistake is to identify the purposes of people exclusively with their 'self-interest,' which is then in turn confused with 'selfishness.' The purposes of people in the market are indeed purposes of selves, but as selves with purposes we are also concerned about the interests and well being of others -- our family members, our friends, our neighbors, and even total strangers whom we will never meet. Indeed, markets help to condition people to consider the needs of others, including total strangers." --Tom G. Palmer, "The Morality of Capitalism"

The power of choice, free-markets in education

The Wall Street Journal recently published a great discussion about free market solutions to pressing education problems. The video also dispels a lot of myths about school choice.



The power of choice is amazing.

Click here to see 10 reasons why Kentucky's children deserve school choice!

Milton Friedman Quote of the Day

"The free market enables people to go into any industry that they want; to trade with whomever they want; to buy in the cheapest market around the world; to sell in the dearest around the world. But most important of all, if they fail, they bear the cost. If they succeed, they get the benefit and it's that atmosphere of incentive that has induced them to work, to adjust, to save, to produce a miracle. This miracle hasn't been achieved by government action - by someone sitting in one of those tall buildings and telling people what to do. It's been achieved by allowing the market to work."

Free to Choose, Part 1

Come celebrate Milton Friedman's legacy of freedom at the University of Louisville Belknap Campus, July 29th at 8 AM. Click here to RSVP for Friedman Day 2011!

What does 'free market' mean?

The Bluegrass Institute is a free market think tank. But what does "free market" mean?

In a new page entitled "Free market" on FreedomKentucky.org, Bluegrass Institute intern Brian Deignan does a great job of giving Kentuckians an introduction to some important components of freedom in the marketplace.

"In a free market, individuals or individual entities seek to exchange with others free from the threat of coercion," Deignan writes.

He points out the importance of "voluntary exchanges," which are "net-beneficial in nature, meaning both parties in a transaction expect to receive more in benefits than the costs incurred to them by giving up some of their property for some other property or service."

Deignan explains the importance of coordination -- but not on the part of some government bureaucrat.

Rather, explains, "in a free market individuals coordinate their market activity with that of others. This result is of no conscious intention of any market participant; instead, it is the workings of a functioning price system. The spontaneous coordination of all market participants reveals the cooperative nature of the free market, which usually relies on competition."

A vivid example of Deignan's point about competition is found in the great 1958 essay entitled simply "I, Pencil." It's one of the greatest statements on how the free market works.

An education comparison that never gets old

Don Boudreaux asks, "What if supermarkets were run like local public schools?"



Read Bluegrass Institute education work here.