This summer, Washington, D.C., interns connected with noble leaders who help advance the cause for freedom at the Capitol Hill Lecture Series. For the tenth year running, the Einhorn Family Foundation has generously sponsored this special series, which is hosted in partnership with the Office of U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. The second half of the 2022 series included distinguished speakers Lawrence Reed, Dr. Scott Atlas, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and John Mackey.
Lawrence W. Reed: Was Jesus a Socialist?
Senator Paul welcomed economist Lawrence Reed on Wednesday, July 13. Reed is the former president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the President Emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).
Dr. Reed gave a presentation titled, “Was Jesus a Socialist?” He began by highlighting the invalid nature of this question. A better question, he argued, is this: “Did Jesus’ ethics comport with the ethics or the economics of socialism?” To evaluate this question, Reed outlined the objectives of socialism and made references to the situations Jesus encountered.
According to Reed, socialists have three goals, which they achieve through forcibly imposing their beliefs on others. The first is the central planning of the economy, which is often their guiding philosophy. The second is redistribution of income and the third is the government having ownership of property.
Reed concluded his lecture with “the idea that Jesus would endorse a system that would leave people in want – in my mind – runs counter to everything that he had to say regarding ethics and economics.”
Watch the full lecture here:
Dr. Scott Atlas and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: COVID Misinformation
Dr. Scott Atlas and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford University gave an informative presentation about COVID misinformation on Wednesday, July 20.
Dr. Atlas opened the conversation by emphasizing the critical need to rebuild faith in American institutions following the outbreak of the pandemic. He argued that research from Stanford University, Europe and from other parts of the world concluded that the lockdowns in the United States were ineffective.
Atlas stated that as a result of these failed lockdowns, “we have imposed massive harm on the younger generation including psychiatric illnesses and drug abuse in teenagers as well as an explosion of mental health disorders in people your age and younger because of the policies.”
Dr. Bhattacharya contributed to the discussion by explaining how scientists like himself were constrained in their ability to freely discuss COVID-19. He argued that the government orchestrated a propaganda campaign to “smear the centers in science – ending the possibility of real scientific discussion actually happening.” While also “making sure that the public didn’t get to know without this filter of fringe-ness, that there actually was a scientific discussion going on,” he added.
Watch the full lecture here:
John Mackey: The Virtues of Capitalism
Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey closed out the series with a discussion on the virtues of capitalism on Wednesday, July 27. The majority of Mackey’s remarks were devoted to his deep belief that capitalism is the greatest invention ever made by mankind.
“The more economically free you are, the more capitalistic you are,” he said.
He advised the United States to learn from Sweden, which is currently ranked number 11 in terms of economic freedom, while we have slipped behind and are now ranked number 25. Sweden has cut its corporate tax rate, reduced its public spending, eliminated the minimum wage, and provided universal education vouchers to every child.
He discussed the downfall of socialism and how it had failed in 40 countries, indicating that it could never succeed. He shared statistics and research to support how socialism has always fostered coercion, murder, and poverty.
“Capitalism is this engine of progress, innovation and creativity,” he said. “It allows this generation to have the highest standard of living and the best lives that have ever been lived in America.”
Watch the full lecture here:
Throughout the summer students had the opportunity to meet and speak one-on-one with these established leaders. The annual series provides our future generation of leaders with discussions on topics related to “Free Markets, Individual Liberty and Civil Society.” This unique opportunity allowed students to ask questions and to express their ideas to a wide range of individuals who wish to enhance the advancement for freedom.