Every week, NPRI President Andy Matthews writes a column for NPRI’s week-in-review email. If you are not getting our emails, which contain our latest commentaries and news stories, you can sign up here to receive them. Just enter your email in the box on the top right.
I, Pencil: The movie
Imagine a pencil. You’ve probably bought and used hundreds of them. But have you ever thought about how a pencil becomes a pencil?
It’s an amazingly complex process that involves thousands of people from around the world. People who don’t know each other. People who don’t speak the same language. People who may not even know what a pencil is. How does it happen?
Economist Leonard Read wrote a brilliant and short essay, titled I, Pencil, on this very question. It’s a great read, demonstrating the amazing things people are able to accomplish when they are free.
But now, thanks to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I, Pencil is also a great short film. I encourage you to watch this video, but also to share it with your friends, email list or even your kids. Share it with anyone who needs to understand that free individuals are capable of accomplishing incredible things without being bossed around by government bureaucrats.
Know of any other short videos that cleverly explain free-market principles? Send them my way and we may feature them in the right-hand column in a future Week in Review.
Until next time,
Andy Matthews
NPRI President
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