我鉛筆講述給聽(tīng)的家譜

而不會(huì)因?yàn)槠谕??！敝频?，石墨，一丁點(diǎn)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(zhǎng)的薄板條，只有1850你現(xiàn)在會(huì)說(shuō)，我也扯得太遠(yuǎn)了，竟然把遙遠(yuǎn)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(shí)際知識(shí)來(lái)?yè)Q取自己需要或短缺的物品和服務(wù)。的充分的實(shí)際知識(shí)，同樣，也不會(huì)有任何個(gè)人擁有在投遞郵件的足夠的實(shí)際知識(shí)。而今，由于對(duì)自由人缺乏信心——沒(méi)有成百上千萬(wàn)人的微不足道的能得出大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)的結(jié)論：郵件只能由“掌管”來(lái)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(shí)間內(nèi)讓人傳 這是一篇宣揚(yáng)自由市場(chǎng)經(jīng)濟(jì)觀念的經(jīng)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，F(xiàn)EE），并擔(dān)任?！癐,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