Adam Smith. Friedrich von Hayek. Ludwig von Mises. Milton Friedman.
In the pantheon of free market economics, the names of these great thinkers are spoken with reverence and awe.
Perhaps one day Harrison Moore’s name will be listed among these legends, but for now the 15-year-old Oxford High School freshman is content to attend a week-long seminar about free-market economics.
Moore received a full scholarship to the Freedom Academy II to be held in Atlanta, Georgia from July 26-31.
‘We’re just tickled to death that they offered him this,? said Tom Moore, the teen’s father.
The summer seminar is put on by The Foundation for Economic Freedom. Founded in 1946, the free-market organization is dedicated to the study and advancement of the first principles of freedom, which include the sanctity of private property, individual liberty, the rule of law, the free market and the moral superiority of individual choice and responsibility over coercion.
The seminar will involve lectures on subjects such as the morality of capitalism, competition and entrepreneurship, public choice, regulation and intervention, liberty and character, free trade versus protectionism, business cycles, supply and demand, and the origin of money.
‘There’s some very interesting classes,? said Tom Moore. ‘I’m really excited for him.?
‘I can’t wait to go,? said Harrison Moore. ‘I hope that I can learn some things and help spread my kind of ideals.?
Attending this seminar is a dream come true for Moore, who’s a self-professed libertarian and strong believer in laissez-faire, a doctrine opposing government interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights.
‘If people should be free, shouldn’t the economy be free as well?? he said. ‘People are only as free as the economy.?
Moore said he likes the fact that in a free market economy people have choices and are ‘not bound? to have their ‘every decision? made by the government.
The type of free market Moore favors is one ‘more balanced in favor of mom-and-pop kind of shops? as opposed to huge corporations and conglomerates, which have the potential to take over and become a ‘de facto government? that controls everything.
Once he’s old enough to vote, Moore indicated he’ll probably cast his ballot for the Republican Party. ‘That’s where most of the libertarians go anyway,? he said.
However, Moore admitted that voting for either Republicans or Democrats is ‘kind of pointless.?
After graduating from OHS in three years, Moore would like to attend the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands because the European country’s laws and policies are fairly consistent with libertarian beliefs and free market principles.
He wants to study either politics or computer science. ‘They kind of go hand-in-hand for me for some reason,? he said.