I first encountered the mind of David Henderson when I was 18 years old, and read his introduction to a Cato reprint of Yale Brozen’s “Is Government the Source of Monopoly.” I liked Brozen’s essay, but it was Henderson’s intro that stayed with me. Especially the last paragraph:
When I was eighteen years old and first read Yale Brozen’s essay, “Is Government the Source of Monopoly?” it gave me much intellectual ammunition for my arguments for a free society. I never dreamed when I read it that I would be writing a foreward to a reprint of it. Maybe someday he will write an article, “Let’s Abolish Antitrust Laws,” and an eighteen year old will read it and later write a foreward to it.
Alas, Brozen (1917-1998) didn’t live long enough to grant David’s wish. But perhaps he’ll accept my substitute: Years ago, David wrote an intro to Brozen’s essay. An eighteen year old read it. Now that former eighteen year old is introducing David Henderson as a guest blogger for EconLog.
If you’re not familiar with David’s work, you should be. He’s the author of The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (available for free on the Liberty Fund website), The Joy of Freedom, and (http://www.davidrhenderson.com/articles/index.html) tons of popular articles, and the co-author of Making Great Decisions in Business and Life . He’s an economist who not only loves ideas – but also genuinely loves talking to people. And when I finally met David in person last year, I was impressed by the way that he packages economic evidence and libertarian values. Like me, he admits that economic understanding takes us only halfway to a free society, but quickly adds that economists should start taking the value of liberty seriously.
When I was eighteen years old, I never dreamed that I’d be welcoming David as a guest blogger. In fact, I never dreamed that something like blogging would exist. But I can still say that welcoming David as a guest blogger is a dream come true. Let’s all give him a warm EconLog welcome… and see what he’s going to say next. David?
READER COMMENTS
Luke G.
Oct 24 2008 at 7:37am
Welcome David, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Eric Hanneken
Oct 24 2008 at 8:49am
I enjoyed reading Making Great Decisions. Welcome to EconLog.
Less Antman
Oct 24 2008 at 8:56am
David’s THE JOY OF FREEDOM is one of the best introductions to economic principles ever written, disguised as an autobiography.
Andrew
Oct 24 2008 at 10:07am
I met David at a Cato University seminar in San Diego a few years ago. He’s both a very smart economist and a genuinely friendly person. Looking forward to some great economic stories.
Sheldon Richman
Oct 24 2008 at 12:23pm
I’m one of David’s biggest fans. So this is wonderful news, indeed!
Comments are closed.