Can Capitalism Survive?

Chapter 3

Capital_301-336.indd 307 1/3/12 8:00 PM Chapter 3 The Foundation for Economic Education: Success or Failure? The question before us is this: Has the Foundation for Economic Education, in its first twenty-five years, succeeded in its mission? Most speakers on such occasions are capable of supplying only one answer to such a question. Tonight, at no extra cost to you, I intend to give you four answers to this question. They are in order: yes, probably no, almost certainly no, and unqualifiedly yes. Are there any questions? The reason I can give you four answers to this one question is that the phrase, "succeeded in its mission," is capable of at least four meaningful interpretations, each calling for its own answer. One possible interpretation is that the mission of any organization, at first instance, is quite simply to survive. That FEE has survived is testified to by our presence here tonight. Nor should any of us think lightly of this accomplishment. Given the general social and economic climate of the immediate postwar period, Capital_301-336.indd 308 1/3/12 8:00 PM 308. Can Capitalism Survive? the survival chances of any organization committed to individual freedom and limited government could well have been described in 1946 as two in number: slim and none. So much, you might think, for the criterion of mere survival-but survival is not as "mere" as you might think. Never underestimate the significance of the simple fact of the continuing existence of an island of sanity in an increasingly insane world. Whether this sanity can eventually turn the battle is still moot and will be discussed in a moment, but its simple existence is a very present help in time of trouble. I am reminded of Tolstoy's description of the role of the Russian commander, Prince Bagration, in the battle of Schon Grabern. Although himself in doubt of the outcome and aware of how little he really knew of the battle's progress, the Prince stood serene and confident in the view of all, answering each report of the action, whether encouraging or discouraging, with a sonorous, "Very good!"-as if even the local defeats were part of an overall pattern of events that foretold ultimate victory. As Tolstoy put it: Prince Andrew noticed that ... though what happened was due to chance and was independent of the commander's will, his (Bagration's) presence was very valuable. Officers who approached him with disturbed countenances became calm; soldiers and officers greeted him gaily, grew more cheerful in his presence, and were evidently anxious to display their courage before him.1 1 Tolstoy, War and Peace, Inner Sanctum ed., p. 193. Capital_301-336.indd 309 1/3/12 8:00 PM The Foundation for Economic Education • 309 As with these soldiers, we grow more cheerful in the presence of FEE and Leonard Read, more anxious to display our limited courage. Believe me, this is something ; even though the battle itself were to be already lost, as it well may be, FEE, as the island of sanity to which we repair for warmth and comfort, may still be counted a great and significant success. A second way to evaluate an organization is to examine its chances for survival in the long run. Do we have here an organization so significant and successful that it will live through the centuries (or at least the decades) ahead? Not only do I answer, "Probably no," to this question but I add "and I hope not" to that answer. The real danger to an organization of this kind is not that it will simply disappear, but that its form will long survive its soul. Do not misunderstand me; I am not forecasting an early end to FEE. It is true that even Leonard Read is not immortal, but Read's leaving will not mean the end of this organization. It will carry on, and for x number of years, continue to be a center of strength in the cause of freedom. But times change, and people change, and institutions change; it is as certain as death itself that sooner or later FEE will be, in spirit, something quite different from what it now is. Moreover, the chances are that that spirit will be significantly alien to the spirit that now moves this organization. When that day comes, if any of us are still...