Why We Must Come Together

by Dr. Ron Paul Ron Paul Institute

One of the greatest influences on both my personal philosophy and the strategy of how to promote it was Leonard Read, the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). Read founded FEE in 1946, just as WWII was ending and the US government was about to embark upon a cold war with the Soviet Union. Read must have foreseen the expansion of government that was coming – both at home and overseas – and he started FEE to spread the message of non-interventionism and freedom. You could say that FEE was the first modern libertarian organization.

Leonard Read was so effective in his role as leader of FEE because of his demeanor. He was kind and gentle in his approach, but he never compromised the freedom message. People should be able to do whatever it is they want without any interference, he believed, as long as they weren’t hurting anybody else.