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The more complex our economy, the more we should rely on the miraculous, self-adapting processes of men acting freely. No mind of man nor any combination of minds can even envision, let alone intelligently control, the countless human energy exchanges in a simple society, to say nothing of a complex one.

Leonard Read

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Leonard Read
Age: 84 †
Born: 1898
Born: September 26
Died: 1983
Died: May 14
Businessperson
Economist
Philosopher
Writer
Hubbardston
Michigan
Leonard Edward Read
Leonard E. Read
Mind
Simple
Complex
Envision
Men
Process
Combination
Adapting
Energy
Minds
Countless
Human
Control
Miraculous
Humans
Economy
Processes
Nothing
Alone
Freely
Self
Acting
Rely
Exchanges
Even
Society
Complexes
Intelligently

More quotes by Leonard Read

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What, actually, is the difference between communism and fascism? Both are forms of statism, authoritarianism. The only difference between Stalin's communism and Mussolini's fascism is an insignificant detail in organizational structure.
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The proper and limited use of government is to invoke a common justice and keep the peace - and that is all.
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There is really nothing that can be done except by an individual. Only individuals can learn. Only individuals can think creatively. Only individuals can cooperate. Only individuals can combat statism.
Leonard Read
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The libertarian can have no truck with 'left' or 'right' because he regrets any form of authoritarianism - the use of police force to control the creative life of man.
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Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct it. How, for instance, can one compare a socialized post office with private postal delivery when the latter has been outlawed?
Leonard Read
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The advancement of freedom is not a matter of who wields political power over creative actions rather, it depends upon the disassembling of such power.
Leonard Read
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Insecurity must follow the transfer of responsibility from self to others, particularly when transferred to arbitrary and capricious government. Genuine security is a matter of self-responsibility, based on the right to the fruits of one's own labor and freedom to trade.
Leonard Read
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We need only take our heads out of the sand to see clearly that interventionism not only has failed to provide the promised something-for-nothing, but has led to all sorts of undesirable consequences. Indeed, many are just beginning to realize that we are moving towards disaster even though we have been on a wrong heading for decades.
Leonard Read
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...the greatest political problem facing the world today is...how to curb the oppressive power of government, how to keep it within reasonable bounds.
Leonard Read
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The solution to this problem [welfare-statism] must take a positive form: the restoration of a faith in what free men can accomplish.
Leonard Read
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In market terms, one is entitled to what others will offer in willing exchange. That is all!
Leonard Read
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Politicians, bureaucrats, editors, new commentators, 'economists' teachers,' and other word artists who denounce private enterprise and praise socialism are their own worst enemies...these attackers are unwittingly destroying the sources of their own livelihood. They kill the geese that lay the golden eggs - and don't know it!
Leonard Read
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Were it necessary to bring a majority into a comprehension of the libertarian philosophy, the cause of liberty would be utterly hopeless. Every significant movement in history has been led by one or just a few individuals with a small minority of energetic supporters.
Leonard Read
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Statism, which forces all of us within its orbit, is nothing but a political system of organized plunder, managed by every conceivable type of pressure group.
Leonard Read
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Coercion is as much the tool of the welfare state as it is of communism. The programs and edicts of both are backed by the police force. All of us know this to be true under communism, but it is equally true under our own brand of welfare statism.
Leonard Read
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There could be no greater error than to conclude that statism caused prosperity.
Leonard Read
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Socialistic practices are now so ingrained in our thinking, so customary, so much a part of our mores, that we take them for granted.
Leonard Read
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Whenever government assumed responsibility for the security, welfare, and prosperity of citizens, the costs of government rise beyond the point where it is politically expedient to cover them by direct tax levies.
Leonard Read
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No one has more than scratched the surface when it comes to understanding and explaining the miracle of the market.
Leonard Read
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The system of plunder derives much of its support from individuals who do not subscribe to socialism but who say, 'We're paying for it, so we might as well get our share'
Leonard Read