One benefit of the economic chaos due to tariffs is that we’re getting an object lesson into just how interrelated the world has become in the past hundred years. If you’re still not convinced or need help for those around you in appreciating this, it is hard to do better than the classic economics essay about a seemingly simple object all of us have used: the pencil.
Leonard Read was the founder of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FFEE). In what has been a classic essay in basic economics, Mr. Read educated his readers on just how complex the economy is by unpacking the materials, talents and processes required to produce a simple writing instrument. As Mr. Read said, the essay is about the “genealogy” of a pencil
The current president of the FEE, Lawrence Reed remarked of the essay “Many first-time readers never see the world quite the same again.”:
If you don’t read anything in this week’s blog, please read I, Pencil (after clicking the link, scroll past the commentary and introduction for the actual essay).
If you like you economics lessons in video form, the late, great Milton Friedman offers a 2: 25 minute recap of the “I, Pencil” essay. Whether you read or watch, your economics IQ is about to go up and the current turbulence may be a little more comprehensible ( if not more comfortable!).
