This issue of The Freeman examines the moral and practical importance of voluntary exchange, showing how freedom channels individual creativity into social progress. It critiques egalitarian redistribution, the coercive logic of tax-funded welfare, and economic fallacies that ignore scarcity and incentives. Additional essays explore the philosophical foundations of property rights, the destructive effects of inflation, and the superiority of market-driven production over political planning. The issue also addresses pressures to politicize medicine, the expanding claims of positive “rights,” and the dangers of turning compassion into compulsion. Book reviews consider works on education reform, corporate governance, and the nature of political obligation.
