The following is a republished work written by Ken Schoolland, President of Liberty International. Author’s Notes: In May of 1985, ISIL was still called Libertarian International (LI) and will once again be LI, Liberty International. The publication was the “Free World Chronicle,” which included my article “Japanese Libertarian Heritage,” an interview with Professor Toshio Murata. Murata-sensei was once a student of Mises who translated Human Action into Japanese and later became President of the Yokohama College of Commerce and editor of the team that translated “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible” into Japanese for the “Keisai Seminar Magazine.” Pictured: Ken Schoolland & Professor Toshio Murata In the summer of 1984 I overheard two friends discussing the prospects for a libertarian movement in Japan. One of them stated quite bluntly that, despite a free market orientation, the Japanese were too group-oriented to become libertarians. He felt that people had to be firm individualists to be serious advocates of freedom. The other disputant contended that libertarianism is based on the principle of non-aggression, not strictly individualism. While a libertarian world may be conducive to greater individualism, he argued that it is reasonable to assume that there would be increased incentives for group cooperation. Presumably, voluntary associations would replace the non-invasive institutions that we associate with government today. As the debate progressed, it became clear that neither person knew very much about the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary Japan. It is often assumed that Japan thrives as some sort of carbon copy of the American economic model, with eastern modifications for close government, business, and employee cooperation. Fortunately, there is a fascinating libertarian heritage in Japan that has provided the foundation for an evolving free society. Toshio Murata, Professor of Economics at Yokohama College of Commerce, has explained that Japanese history is rife with examples …
Classroom Needs “Healing Our World”
Professor Tom Clark, at the University of Houston, wants to use 80 copies of “Healing Our World” in his two classes starting in January. The books would be used in his International Marketing classes. Because the college will not make the book a primary text, we need your help to raise the money to get the books in the hands of knowledge hungry students. If you’ve read “Healing Our World” by Dr. Mary Ruwart, you know what a powerful book it is. The book makes a humanitarian case for free society, and many people have said the book changed their lives. Dr. Ron Paul wrote the foreword for this new edition, so that will mean a lot to the students as well! Professor Clark has been involved with the Texas Liberty Club for years, and is passionate about teaching his students about a free society. If you can help purchase a book for his class, it will go much further than one person, as the books may be used many times. If you help purchase 10 books at $130, we will give you a personally autographed copy of “Healing Our World” or “Short Answers to the Tough Questions: How to Answer The Questions Libertarians Are Often Asked”. We hope you can help us purchase the books for Professor Clark’s classroom — it’s a powerful way to begin healing our world! Click here to view the campaign! View the campaign here.
Announcing Project: FREE MARKET LIBRARY
[alert style=”yellow”] Project Period: First phase (Sep 2013 – Dec 2014)[/alert] This project aims at promoting the Liberal Free Market literature, through translating into Albanian and publishing of such books, to help students of Economic, Law and Political and Social Studies Faculties during their Bachelor and Master/Doctorate studies for general and specific knowledge, and for their theses. It will also address to Albanian readers and Business Associations, because our book market lacks this kind of literature. These books, for some of which the centre has the copyright, are taken from classical and up-to-date liberal literature, and are included into the curricula of many international universities, so this project aims also to do this, in cooperation with respective university chairs, by propagating and discussing this kind of literature in various activities such as organizing the Open Evenings with students and professors. The books will be distributed to every library of public and private universities and also to city bookshops. Up to now, two books from Free Market Odyssey have already been published, with the help of ISIL – International Society for Individual Liberty: – The Aventurat e Xhonathan Gullible (revised) by Ken Schoolland; – Anthem by Ayn Rand. The first phase of the project will start with other publications, as follows: – Beyond Democracy by Frank Karsten; – The Logic of Classical Liberalism by Jacque de Guenin; – The Law by Frederic Bastiat; – The Free Market and its Enemies by Ludvig von Mises; – Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt; – Libertarianism by David Boaz; For the moment, we are working with the translation of the first two books and also looking for grants to publish them within 2013. [toggle title=”Organizer information” state=”closed”] Organization: CENTER “OPEN EDUCATION ALBANIA”, Address: Rr. Abdyl Frasheri, Pall. de Rada, Njesia 4. Project manager: KOZETA …
“Jonathan” published in Urdu
The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible Published in Urdu Dr. Khalil Ahmad, ISIL’s Rep for Pakistan, has just published the highly-acclaimed fable, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free-Market Odyssey in Urdu, the language of Pakistan and many countries in south Asia. This is the 30th language in which this amazing book has been published. Details on the Urdu edition follow: The title of the book in Urdu means this: “The Story of a Peoples Welfare Republic – as narrated by Jonathan Gullible”. The photograph was originally printed in a prestigious English daily of Pakistan and I bought it from the photographer. The photo is that of a busy road with potholes and cracks on it – like most of the roads in Pakistan. The man standing on the road with a tool in his hands is a self-employed person who has chosen for himself a job which is normally considered a duty of the government, i.e. repairing the roads. All of the roads in Pakistan are built, owned and maintained by the government. The sign fixed on the road is meant for the users of the road. It reads: “Hello, this is a request to all of the drivers using this road that I am a servant of yours – not of the government. To relieve you of the troubles I fill up the holes and repair the cracks of the road. You please take care of me and help me. My family will pray for you!” Khalil Ahmad President, Alternate Solutions Institute Lahore, Pakistan info@asinstitute.org http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreePakistan
“Jonathan Gullible” 35 Languages
JONATHAN GULLIBLENOW IN 35 LANGUAGES By Jim Elwood The completion of two more language editions of ISIL director Ken Schoolland’s award-winning fable The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey has in recent weeks brought the total of print and on-line languages to 35! In India, ISIL Rep Barun Mitra and his Liberty Institute in New Delhi have just published the Bengali book edition. He also very recently published the Asian Commentary edition in localized English, which is an annotated edition inspired by Janette Eldridge’s UK Commentary edition (published in South Africa in early 2004). A Hindi edition is due out very shortly. In Nigeria, ISIL Rep Agwu Amogu has just published the Pidgin English edition (see photo above). The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey is a humorous illustrated fable about a boy from a libertarian land who gets shipwrecked on a statist island and observes all the strange customs. Each of the 39 little chapters illustrates a basic principle of economics. It has been a great hit with students, and has garnered educational awards such as the Leavey Prize and two George Washington Honor Medals from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge; the Leonard E. Read Book Award from the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), and from the Association of Private Enterprise Educators. It has been endorsed by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, and is now being spread through the international organization of Students In Free Enterprise. It has been published both through ISIL’s network and via other contacts of Ken’s. These have been locally translated, published, and distributed; and have had the added benefit of providing the fledgling publishers with valuable business experience. ISIL has provided seed money for quite a few of the projects in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. The earlier 32 …
“Jonathan Gullible” in 30 Languages
Jonathan Gullible Now In 30 Languages! by Ken Schoolland, edited by Jim Elwood Jonathan Gullible is published in serialized form in Greek newspaper Neos Typos. The last few months have seen another surge in the worldwide spread of ISIL director Ken Schoolland’s award-winning libertarian fable The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. During the early 90’s after JG started going international, we averaged about one new language in print per year. We are now running at one new language every couple of months — and have now reached 30 in print, plus some on the Web. KYRGZ — Jonathan Gullible reached Central Asia this summer with publication in Kyrgyzstan. This project had arisen through the international network of Students in Free Enterprise. Ken is the Sam Walton Fellow for the SIFE chapter at Hawaii-Pacific University and has met a number of overseas contacts through that venue. Zarina Osmonalieva, a member of the SIFE chapter in Bishkek, the Kyrgz capital, learned about JG and arranged translation and printing. Funding was provided through ISIL’s Jonathan Gullible Book Fund. BULGARIAN — The Bulgarian edition of JG was serialized recently in the Sedem Weekly newspaper, accompanied by commentaries from local economists. It drew such a great response from readers that its circulation catapulted from near obscurity to second-highest in the nation. The Bulgarian edition of the book will be published this fall. KISWAHILI — Jonathan Gullible is now also available in a major region of East Africa. The Kiswahili edition of JG arrived from the printer in September. This project is the work of James Shikwati Shikuku, President of the Inter-Region Economic Network (IREN) in Nairobi and the ISIL Rep for Kenya. Kiswahili is the primary local language in not only Kenya, but also Uganda and Tanzania. This project was another result …
“Philosophy of Liberty”
“Philosophy of Liberty” Flash Animation Adopted by Libertarianz The “Philosophy of Liberty” flash animation which was derived from the epilogue to Ken Schoolland’s The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible – and executed as a computer animation by Kerry Pearson, of British Columbia, Canada – has been an amazing success. It’s the #1 feature visited on the ISIL website and the responses we’ve received have been nothing less than ecstatic. Even more interesting is the fact that the kudos are pouring in from folks from across the political spectrum. Here are some typical remarks. “How did you discover these ideas?” “This is almost a religious experience,” etc. It is now featured on dozens of libertarian website home pages around the world and the DVDs have been played at fairs and conventions. The latest news is that our friends at New Zealand’s Libertarianz contacted ISIL and ISIL Director Ken Schoolland back in January requesting permission to produce a condensed movie edition of the flash in their country in order to promote libertarian ideas – and Libertarianz, New Zealand’s libertarian party, in the upcoming elections. Terry Verhoeven, coordinator for the project (renamed “An Introduction To Liberty”), informed us that 32 Kiwis who were passionate about individual liberty, had pledged $25,000 to help launch the promotion which involved showings of the 2-minute movie in 7 cinemas up and down the country. With additional funding they hope to expand the number of cinemas where the animation is to be viewed. In a public statement Verhoeven announced: “Thousands of movie-goers around the country will be treated to an enjoyable two-minute animation titled ‘An Introduction to Liberty’ – a thought-provoking message highlighting that no government has the right to enslave or to steal from its citizens. The message is one that holds true regardless of the imaginative labels …