Free To Choose Network

02/07/2025

Today, we remember Andrew Coulson, a brilliant thinker and tireless advocate for educational freedom who passed away nine years ago. As the visionary behind our documentary series "School Inc.," Andrew traveled the world exploring a profound question: Why doesn't excellence in education spread like excellence in other fields?

His quest for answers took him from the streets of Hyderabad to the classrooms of Sweden, where he sought ways to improve education for more children through the power of choice and market principles. Though he didn't live to see "School Inc." air, his dedication to improving education and his deep insights continue to inspire reform efforts worldwide.

We honor Andrew's legacy by continuing his mission: asking the hard questions and working to create an education system that truly serves all students. https://www.freetochoosenetwork.org/programs/school_inc/

02/04/2025

In the early 1900s, an unlikely partnership between Booker T. Washington and Sears CEO Julius Rosenwald revolutionized Black education in the South. Together, they built a network of "Rosenwald Schools," nurturing minds like Maya Angelou and John Lewis.

But when government stepped in, something unexpected happened.

Watch education leader Ian Rowe as he shares this remarkable story of private initiative, educational excellence, and a surprising lesson about good intentions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9zkG90rACQ

02/02/2025

Groundhog Day reminds us how hard it is to predict the future.

Yet every day, bureaucrats and central planners claim they can forecast and control millions of economic decisions better than the free market.

How's that working out? Watch our Dead Wrong series to find out. https://www.freetochoosenetwork.org/deadwrong/

01/31/2025

Today's "big wigs" might wear suits instead of powdered wigs, but the tension between free markets and special privileges that Adam Smith wrote about remains just as relevant.

While the powerful still seek government favors and protection from competition, Smith's message rings true: prosperity comes from freedom, not favoritism.

This National Big Wig Day, we're remembering how one wig-wearing philosopher challenged the established order by showing that markets work best when individuals are free to pursue their own interests.

His ideas transformed not just economics, but our understanding of human nature itself.

Explore his enduring legacy in "The Real Adam Smith". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6S6pMsKzlI

01/30/2025

Ever wonder who "invented" capitalism? Plot twist: Nobody did.

Like a path worn through the grass by countless footsteps, capitalism emerged naturally from people simply trading what they had for what they needed.

Read more about capitalism's surprising origins. https://blog.freetochoosenetwork.org/category/capitalism/

01/28/2025

Time and time again, good intentions meet economic reality.

When governments try to "fix" the market without understanding how it works, the results speak for themselves.

What examples of this have you seen?

01/23/2025

While some business owners hesitate at AI's doorstep, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman sees a familiar pattern: those who embrace new technologies write the future, while those who resist risk becoming history lessons.

Speaking at the University of Bologna, Hoffman channels the spirit of past innovators to show how today's entrepreneurs are already turning AI from science fiction into business fact.

Curious how the invisible hand of the market is giving AI a high-five? Read our newest Featured Find now! https://blog.freetochoosenetwork.org/category/featured-finds/

01/20/2025

Dr. King envisioned a nation where freedom meant more than just the absence of segregation.

He understood that true equality requires both civil rights and economic opportunity—in short, the freedom to make choices for ourselves.

Today, we honor his dream of a society where every American can fully participate in both our democracy and our economy.

01/18/2025

Need a better word? A thesaurus gives you choices.

Need a better product? Free markets give you options.

Need a better solution? Competition creates possibilities.

This National Thesaurus Day, we celebrate the power of choice—whether in words or markets—to unlock human potential.

01/17/2025

On January 16, 1920, the U.S. government launched its "noble experiment" of Prohibition.

It took less than 24 hours for Americans to prove an economic truth—you can ban legal markets, but you can't ban supply and demand.

The result? A thriving underground economy and the rise of organized crime.

The government tried to legislate away human behavior. The market had other ideas.

An economics lesson on National Bootlegger's Day. Cheers!

01/16/2025

As a business owner, you operate in the capitalist system every day, but do you truly understand the forces that shape your success?

We've launched a new blog series exploring capitalism from an entrepreneur's perspective and with an economic understanding.

First up: back to basics with "What Is Capitalism?" Go beyond the dictionary definition to what this common term actually means. https://blog.freetochoosenetwork.org/category/capitalism/

01/16/2025

Science is just a theory. Religion is just faith. And freedom of speech is just... well, the thing that's repeatedly saved both from the people trying to "protect" them.

This National Religious Freedom Day, Episode 2 of Free to Speak explores a peculiar pattern: the moment someone claims to have absolute truth, both science and faith tend to take a nosedive.

From telescopes that upset theologians to textbooks that troubled Tennessee, discover why the best ideas survive not because they're shielded from questions—but because they're free to face them.

Watch "The One True Faith" now: https://vimeo.com/854727826

01/15/2025

35 words—that's the length of the presidential oath of office. But within those words lies a revolutionary idea: even the highest office must submit to a higher law—our Constitution.

As we approach another presidential inauguration, join Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg in "Our Constitution at Risk," episode 3 of "A More or Less Perfect Union," to explore what the Constitution protects, how it protects us, and why those protections matter today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoKBOi4Ttw4

01/09/2025

Walter Williams was one of the most controversial thinkers of his time, and he knew it.

When students demanded a "black economics" course, he responded with characteristic wit: "Would you accept Irish students demanding Irish economics?"

With razor-sharp logic and fearless honesty, Williams challenged conventional wisdom about policies affecting black Americans. He became a leading voice for economic freedom, using data and evidence to expose how well-intentioned programs often hurt those they aimed to help.

Watch "Suffer No Fools" to discover how this housing-project kid became one of America's most influential economists and defenders of free markets. https://youtu.be/YZGvQcxoAPg?feature=shared

01/07/2025

"The only way out of poverty is with more freedom." - Javier Milei

01/06/2025

75 billion transistors on a single chip—all because entrepreneurs like Jack Kilby were free to dream, innovate, and compete.

This National Technology Day, Johan Norberg shows how Silicon Valley got its name and why free markets are the ultimate laboratory for human progress.

What tiny invention made out of sand operates the entire modern world? From toys to intercontinental rockets, it’s found in the mundane and the cutting edge...

01/03/2025

Why did America's founders create a republic with constitutional protections instead of a pure democracy?

Watch as Johan Norberg explains how centuries of struggle against absolute power shaped our modern understanding of democratic systems—an essential lesson in liberty.

Democracy is complicated. Many take it as obviously good while others warn of its dangers. Is it the will of the people, we ask, or a tyranny of the majority...

01/01/2025

The greatest gift we can give ourselves in 2025 isn't a government program or a new regulation—it's the freedom to chart our own course.

Uncertainty isn't a bug in the system; it's a feature. No central planner can predict the millions of individual decisions that will shape the coming year. But that's exactly why free markets work: they harness our collective wisdom to adapt to whatever challenges arise.

This year, let's resolve to take more responsibility for our own futures rather than demanding control over others'. After all, prosperity isn't built by grand plans from above—it's built one individual choice at a time.

Happy New Year from Free To Choose Network!