I Chose Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Ken Schoolland 323
the rich are rich. The only possibility that the poor be not poor, a reasonable desire for all
including socialist monks, is for them to imitate the ways of those who have lifted themselves
out of poverty. To insist on a way to accomplish this goal that will not work might be a
noble dream, but it is not a way for free men.
The ultimate battles are not economic or even political. They are philosophical and
theological. It has been the tradition of the West that such battles be fought out in the
academy. It has been the unfortunate experience of modernity that they have been fought
in the streets. In the end, a good idea, an idea that works, can be rejected. It is the virtue
of the free market that a good idea can at least be tried to see if it is found wanting or tried
to see if it is profitable. The pleasure of giving and receiving is to be preferred. This is not
merely an economic principle. The ultimate wealth is in the mind. We do not become
poorer if everyone is becoming richer. But freedom and virtue still have to do with what
we do with our riches, little or great.
James V. Schall, S.J. is professor of philosophy in the Department of Government, Georgetown
University.
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KEN SCHOOLLAND
A LIBERTARIAN ODYSSEY
My earliest political memory is of a rally at the Arizona State Fairgrounds where
Herbert I Led Three Lives Philbrick was speaking about his life as a double agent for the
FBI. His story of espionage in the Cold War was chilling and I could see from my Mom’s
attitude that this was to be taken seriously. Tyrants, after all, were in the midst of killing
150 million people in the twentieth century.
Post-World War II movies reinforced the grim view of life under dictators and regular
air raid drills made the confrontation seem imminent. (It was scary, but nothing as gruesome
as the actual stories of Mao’s China that I heard from Zhao Li, the woman who
became my wife thirty years later. Li’s life closely paralleled the world of Ayn Rand’s Anthem.)
My heroes in those years were G-Men and I wrote a paper in seventh grade explaining why
I wanted to become an agent. Later, my interest changed dramatically.
During the Kennedy-Nixon debates I recall asking my mother what was the difference
between Republicans and Democrats. She told me that Democrats wanted government to
run our lives and Republicans wanted individuals to run their own lives. It was a vivid