而不會因為期望而。”制的，石墨，一丁點金屬，還有一塊橡皮。想想圣萊的木材。雪松圓木被切割成鉛筆那么長的薄板條，只有1850你現在會說，我也扯得太遠了，竟然把遙遠西的咖啡豆采摘工和其它地方的 可以因此而用自己那微不足道的實際知識來換取自己需要或短缺的物品和服務。的充分的實際知識，同樣，也不會有任何個人擁有在投遞郵件的足夠的實際知識。而今，由于對自由人缺乏信心——沒有成百上千萬人的微不足道的能得出大錯特錯的結論：郵件只能由“掌管”來投遞。是，由于讓人們自由地嘗試，因此，他們可以在不到一秒的時間內讓人傳 這是一篇宣揚自由市場經濟觀念的經典文章——“我，鉛筆”（I,Pencil）。這篇文章1958年12月在《自由人》（man）上，作者?（LeonardERead，1898-1983）1946（theFoundationforEconomicEducation，FEE），并擔任。“I,Pencil“是他最著名的文I,Pencil——BYLEONARDE.Iamaleadpencil—theordinarywoodenpencilfamiliartoallboysandgirlsandadultswhocanreadandwrite.Writingisbothmyvocationandmyavocation;that’sallIYoumaywonderwhyIshouldwriteagenealogy.Well,tobeginwith,mystoryisinteresting.And,next,Iamamystery—moresothanatreeorbythosewhouseme,asifIwereamereandwithoutbackground.Thisisaspeciesofthegrievouserrorinwhichmankindcannottoolongpersistwithoutperil.For,thewiseG.K.Chestertonobserved,“Weareperishingforwantofwonder,notforwantofwonders.”Ishallattempttoprove.Infact,ifyoucanunderstandme—no,that’stoomuchtoaskofanyone—ifyoucaneawareofthemiraculousnesswhichIsymbolize,youcanhelpsavethedommankindissounhappilylosing.Ihaveaprofoundlessontoteach.AndIcanteachthislessonbetterthancananautooranairneoramechanicaldishwasherbecause—well,becauseIamseeminglysosimple.Simple?Yet,notasingle onthefaceofthisearthknowshowtomakeme.Thissoundsfantastic,doesn’tit?EspeciallywhenitisintheU.S.A.eachyear.Pickmeupandlookmeover.Whatdoyousee?Notmuchmeetstheeye—there’ssomewood,lacquer,theprintedlabeling,graphitelead,abitofmetal,andaneraser.InnumerableAntecedentsformetonameandexinallmyantecedents.ButIwouldliketosuggestenoughofthemtoimpressuponyoutherichnessandcomplexityofmyMyfamilytreebeginswithwhatinfactisatree,acedarofstraightgrainthatgrowsinNorthernCaliforniaandOregon.Nowcontemteallthesawsandtrucksandropeandthecountlessothergearusedinharvestingandcartingthecedarlogstotherailroadsiding.Thinkofallthe theminingofore,themakingofsteelanditsrefinementintosaws,axes,motors;thegrowingofhempandbringingitthroughallthestagestoheavyandstrongrope;theloggingcampswiththeirbedsandmesshalls,thecookeryandtheraisingofallthefoods.Why,untoldthousandsof hadahandineverycupofcoffeetheloggersdrink!legionsareamongmyantecedents.ConsiderthemillworkinSanLeandro.Thecedarlogsarecutintosmall,pencil-lengthslatslessthanone-ofaninchinthickness.Thesefaces.PeoplepreferthatIlookpretty,notapallidwhite.Theslatsarewaxedandkilndriedagain.Howmanyskillswentintothemakingofbelts,motors,andalltheotherthingsamillrequires?Sweepersinthemillamongmyancestors?Yes,andincludedarethemenwhopouredtheconcreteforthedamofaPacificGas&Electrichydrontwhichsthemill’spower!Don’toverlooktheancestorspresentanddistantwhohaveahandintransportingsixtycarloadsofslatsacrossthenation.Onceinthepencilfactory—$4,000,000inmachineryandbuilding,allcapitalaccumulatedbythriftyandsavingparentsofmine—eachslatisleadsineveryotherslat,appliesglue,andcesanotherslatatop—aleadsandwich,sotospeak.SevenbrothersandIaremechanicallycarvedfromthis“wood-clinched”sandwich.isminedinCeylon[SriLanka].Considertheseminersandthosewhomaketheirmanytoolsandthemakersofthepapersacksinwhichthegraphiteisshippedandthosewhomakethestringthattiesthesacksandthosekeepersalongthewayassistedinmybirth—andtheharborpilots.ThegraphiteismixedwithclayfromMississippiinwhichammoniumhydroxideisusedintherefiningprocess.Thenwettingagentsareaddedsuchassulfonatedtallow—animalfatschemicallyreactedwithsulfuricacid.Afterpassingthroughnumerousmachines,themixturefinallyappearsasendlessextrusions—asfromasausagegrinder—cuttosize,dried,andbakedforseveralhoursat1,850degreesFahrenheit.ToincreasetheirstrengthandsmoothnesstheleadsarethentreatedwithahotmixturewhichincludescandelillawaxfromMexico,paraffinwax,andhydrogenatednaturalfats.Mycedarreceivessixcoatsoflacquer.Doyouknowalltheingredientsoflacquer?Whowouldthinkthatthegrowersofcastorbeansandtherefinersofcastoroilareapartofit?Theyare.Why,eventheprocessessthanonecanObservethelabeling.That’safilmformedbyapplyingheattocarbonMybitofmetal—theferrule—isbrass.Thinkofalltheswhominezincandcopperandthosewhohavetheskillstomakeshinysheetbrassfromtheseproductsofnature.Thoseblackringsonmyferruleareblacknickel.Whatisblacknickelandhowisitapplied?Thecompletestorytoexin.Thenthere’smycrowningglory,inelegantlyreferredtointhetradeas“theplug,”thepartmanusestoerasetheerrorshemakeswithme.Aningredientcalled“factice”iswhatdoestheerasing.Itisarubber-likeproductmadebyreactingrapeseedoilfromtheDutchEastIndies[Indonesia]withsulfurchloride.Rubber,contrarytothecommonnotion,isonlyforbindingpurposes.Then,too,therearenumerouspigmentwhichgives“theplug”itscoloriscadmiumsulfide.NoOneDoesanyonewishtochallengemyearlierassertionthatnosingleonthefaceofthisearthknowshowtomakeme?Actually,millionsofhumanbeingshavehadahandinmycreation,nooneofwhomevenknowsmorethanaveryfewoftheothers.Now,youmaysayIstandbymyclaim.Thereisn’tasingleinallthesemillions,includingtheofthepencil,whocontributesmorethanatiny,infinitesimalbitofknow-how.Fromthestandpointofknow-howinOregonisinthetypeofknow-how.Neithertheminernortheloggercanbedispensedwith,anymorethancanthechemistatthefactoryortheworkerintheoilfield—paraffinbeingaby-productofpetroleum.Hereisanastoundingfact:Neithertheworkerintheoilfieldnorthechemistnorthediggerofgraphiteorclaynoranywhomansormakestheshipsortrainsortrucksnortheonewhorunsthemachinethatdoestheknurlingonmybitofmetalnortheoftheperformshissingulartaskbecausehewantsme.Eachonewantsmeless,perhaps,thandoesachildinthefirstgrade.Indeed,therearesomeamongthisvastmotivationisotherthanme.Perhapsitissomethinglikethis:Eachofthesemillionsseesthathecanthusexchangehistinyknow-howfortheNoMasterThereisafactstillmoreastounding:Theabsenceofamastermind,ofanyonedictatingorforciblydirectingthesecountlessactionswhichbringmeintobeing.Notraceofsuch canbefound.Instead,wefindtheInvisibleHandatwork.ThisisthemysterytowhichIearlierreferred.Ithasbeensaidthat“onlyGodcanmakeatree.”Whydoweagreewiththis?Isn’titbecausewerealizethatweourselvescouldnotmakeone?lifespanofatree?Suchafeatisutterlyunthinkable!I,Pencil,amacomplexcombinationofmiracles:atree,zinc,copper,graphite,andsoon.ButtothesemiracleswhichmanifestthemselvesinNatureanevenmoreextraordinarymiraclehasbeenadded:theconfigurationofcreativehumanenergies—millionsoftinyknow-howsanddesireandintheabsenceofanyhumanmasterminding!SinceonlyGodcanmakeatree,IinsistthatonlyGodcouldmakeme.Mancannomoremoleculestogethertocreateatree.TheaboveiswhatImeantwhenwriting,“Ifyoucan eawareofthemiraculousnesswhichIsymbolize,youcanhelpsavethedommankindissounhappilylosing.”For,ifoneisawarethattheseknow-howswillnaturally,yes,automatically,arrangethemselvesintocreativeandintheabsenceof onewillpossessanabsolu yessentialingredientfordom:afaithinpeople. domisimpossiblewithoutthisfaith. ernmenthashadamonopolyofacreativeactivitysuch,forinstance,asthedeliveryofthemails,mostindividualswillbelievethatthemailscouldnotbeefficientlydeliveredbymenactingly.Andhereisthereason:Eachoneacknowledgesthathehimselfdoesn’tknowhowtodoallthethingstomaildelivery.Healsorecognizesthatnootherindividualcoulddoit.Theseassumptionsarecorrect.Noindividualpossessesenoughknow-howtoperformanation’smaildeliveryanymorethananyindividualpossessesenoughknow-howtomakeapencil.Now,intheabsenceoffaithinpeople—intheunawarenessthatmillionsoftinyknow-howswouldnaturallyandmiraculouslyformandcooperatetosatisfythisthatmailcanbedeliveredonlyby ernmental“masterminding.”TestimonyIfI,Pencil,weretheonlyitemthatcouldoffertestimonyonwhatmenandwomencan plishwhentotry,thenthosewithlittlefaithwouldhaveafaircase.However,thereistestimonygalore;it’sallaboutusandoneveryhand.Maildeliveryisexceedinglysimplewhencompared,forinstance,tothemakingofanautooracalculatingmachineorDelivery?Why,inthisareawheremenhavebeenlefttotry,theydeliverthehumanvoicearoundtheworldinlessthanonesecond;theydeliveraneventvisuallyandinmotiontoany ’shomewhenitishappening;theydeliver150passengersfromSeattletoBaltimoreinlessthanfourhours;theydelivergasfromTexastoone’srangeorfurnaceinNewYorkatunbelievablylowratesandwithoutsubsidy;theydelivereachfourpoundsofoilfromthePersianGulftoourEasternSeaboard—halfwayaroundtheworld—forlessmoneythanthe chargesfordeliveringaone-ounceletteracrossthestreet!Merelyorganizesocietytoactinharmonywiththislesson.Letsociety’slegalapparatusremoveallobstaclesthebestitcan.Permitthesecreativeknow-howslytoflow.HavefaiththatmenandwomenwillrespondtotheInvisibleHand.Thisfaithwillbeconfirmed.I,Pencil,seeminglysimplethoughIam,offerthemiracleofmycreationastestimonythatthisisapracticalfaith,aspracticalasthesun,therain,acedartree,thegoodearth.Afterword——BYMILTONNobelLaureate,LeonardRead’sdelightfulstory,“I,Pencil,”has eaclassic,anddeservedlyso.Iknowofnootherpieceofli turethatsoAdamSmith’sinvisiblehand—thepossibilityofcooperationwithoutcoercion—andFriedrichHayek’semphasisontheimportanceofdispersedknowledgeandtheroleofthepricesystemincommunicatinginformationthat“willmaketheindividualsdothedesirablethingswithoutanyonehavingto lthemwhattodo.”WeusedLeonard’sstoryinourevisionshow,“toChoose,”andinthepanyingbookofthesametitletoillustrate“thepowerofthemarket”(thetitleofboththefirstsegmentoftheTVshowandofchapteroneofthebook).Wesummarizedthestoryandthenwentontosay:“Noneofthethousandsof sinvolvedinproducingthepencilp