Thursday, November 15, 2012

I, Pencil: The Movie


I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read” was first published in 1958. Since then, it has become a hallmark of introductory economics courses. I can’t recall when I first heard the story, but I do remember watching Milton Friedman tell the story in his 1980 television show Free to Choose (I’m not old enough to have actually watched on TV, but all the episodes are available on YouTube). When I began the PhD in Economics program this fall, I was once again treated to a retelling of the story by Walter Williams.

In my experiences to date, there are few, if any, more simple and compelling tales about the wonders of markets. This new video is brilliantly produced and will make for an excellent introduction to economics for future students.


"This is the modern world. It's miraculous, it's intricate, and it gets better every day so long as people are free to interact with each other. If we can leave the creative energy of humankind uninhibited, there's no limit to what we can accomplish."

(h/t Steve Horwitz @ Coordination Problem)

No comments:

Post a Comment