Archive for Leonard E. Read
Leonard Read (1898–1983) was the founder and first president of FEE.
On That Day Began Lies
It is simply a matter of personal determination and a resolve to act and speak in strict accordance with one’s inner, personal dictate of what is right. And for each of us to see to it that no other man or set of men is given permission to represent us otherwise.
27Sep2010 | Leonard E. Read | 15 comments | ContinuedConscience on the Battlefield
PROLOGUE (1981) In 1951, during the Korean War, I wrote a pamphlet entitled Conscience on the Battlefield. War “as a means to peace among nations” was then, and remains, a world-wide fallacy. Today, small wars go on in various parts of the globe, and there is the possibility that a big one is in the [...]
14Jul2010 | Leonard E. Read | 5 comments | ContinuedNeither Left Nor Right
“Why, you are neither left nor right!” This observation, following a speech of mine, showed rare discernment. It was rare because I have seldom heard it made. It was discerning because it was accurate. Most of us seem always to be reaching for word simplifications—handy generalizations—for they often aid speech. They take the place of [...]
1Jan2006 | Leonard E. Read | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Lesser of Two Evils
Leonard Read (1898–1983) was the founder and president of FEE beginning in 1946 until his death. September 26 marks the 106th anniversary of his birth. This article first appeared in The Freeman, February 1963. According to The Columbia Encyclopedia, “the existence of only two major parties, as in most English-speaking countries, presupposes general public agreement [...]
1Sep2004 | Leonard E. Read | 2 comments | ContinuedGlory Be!
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article is excerpted from an essay that originally appeared in the December 1978 issue of The Freeman. It is the twelfth (and last) in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. “True glory [...]
1Dec1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedRegardless of Choice, Vote!
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article is excerpted from Chapter 9 of Mr. Read’s book Anything That’s Peaceful. It is the eleventh in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. I have vowed never to support any organization [...]
1Nov1998 | Leonard E. Read | 1 comment | ContinuedOn Behalf of the Ideal
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article, one of Mr. Read’s Notes from FEE messages, is excerpted from Essays on Liberty, Vol. VII (1960), pp. 332–436. It is the tenth in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. There [...]
1Oct1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Essence of Americanism
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. “The Essence of Americanism,” first delivered as a speech in 1961, was Mr. Read’s traditional opening address at dozens of FEE seminars. Someone once said: It isn’t that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it has been [...]
1Sep1998 | Leonard E. Read | 4 comments | ContinuedHow to Get Action
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article is excerpted from Essays on Liberty, Vol. III (1958), pp. 102-109. It is the eighth in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. “I want less talk and more action.” Thus speak [...]
1Aug1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Heritage We Owe Our Children
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article, reprinted ftom the September 1976 Notes from FEE, is the seventh in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. “But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and [...]
1Jul1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedEconomics: A Branch of Moral Philosophy
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article, reprinted from the January 1972 issue of The Freeman, is the sixth in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. The author of The Wealth of Nations (1776) is frequently classed as [...]
1Jun1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedOn That Day Began Lies
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article, first published in 1949, is excerpted from Essays on Liberty, Vol. I (1952, pp. 231–252). It is the fifth in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. From the day when the [...]
1May1998 | Leonard E. Read | 2 comments | ContinuedHow to Reduce Taxes
This article, excerpted from the July 1960 issue of The Freeman, is the fourth in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. The cuneiform signs, as shown above, are copied from a clay cone now on display at the Louvre. The cone was excavated by the French at the site of [...]
1Apr1998 | Leonard E. Read | 2 comments | ContinuedPenalty of Surrender
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article, excerpted from the April 1957 issue of The Freeman, is the third in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. A certain business leader, perhaps among the most publicized during the last [...]
1Mar1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedNeither Left Nor Right
Leonard E. Read established FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death in 1983. This article, excerpted from the January 1956 issue of The Freeman, is the second in a monthly series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Read’s birth. Why, you are neither left nor right!” This observation, following a speech [...]
1Feb1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedWhite Magic
Editor’s Note: To mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of FEE founding president Leonard E. Read (1898–1983), The Freeman will publish a classic Read essay each month under the series heading “Anything That’s Peaceful.” Leonard Read was born on a farm in Michigan. At 19, his formal education was interrupted by his entry into [...]
1Jan1998 | Leonard E. Read | 0 comments | ContinuedI, Pencil
Leonard E. Read (1898-1983) founded FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death. “I, Pencil,” his most famous essay, was first published in the December 1958 issue of The Freeman. I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write.* * [...]
1May1996 | Leonard E. Read | 57 comments | Continued-
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