Project Description

Hi, there. We’re the team at Libertas Institute—a free market “think tank” working to spread the message of liberty. Here we are:

We’re big fans of free markets. What a blessing it is to exchange products and services and improve each others’ lives! We don’t have to spend all day hunting and gathering; we can write or research or design or build… and others help take care of our needs and wants. It’s amazing.

But there’s a problem…

Check out this graph, which shows how millennials voted in the recent election—an overwhelming majority voted for big government, socialism, and an assault on the free market:

This is the result of an education system that doesn’t teach about free markets, property rights, and individual liberty.

This is the result of our inaction.

Children are not taught basic economics—how markets work, why they’re important, and what needs to happen to keep them functioning optimally and efficiently.

Those children turn into voters. And those ignorant voters support policies—just as you seen in the graph above—that cause harm to a system they don’t even understand.

The recent recession and other economic troubles we face? They are the unfortunate (but predictable) result of failing to help the rising generation understand economics.

…and we have a solution:

Leonard Read wrote a now-famous essay called “I, Pencil” that effectively explains the miracle of the free market, and how it produces social harmony.

This essay has been read by countless adults. And now it’s available for children.

The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil is a children’s book based on that essay, and introduces young readers to concepts such as spontaneous order, division of labor, competition, trade, and more.

It’s part of the Tuttle Twins series that introduces children to the principles of freedom. This series has sold over 30,000 copies and has found its way into homes around the world.

But it hasn’t found its way into schools—until now.

And that’s where you come in!

We have worked with grade-school teachers to produce a unit course on economics based on this children’s book.

We’ll provide this free lesson plan to teachers around the country, along with copies of our “Miraculous Pencil” book for each student. Teachers will be given ideas, activities, and other material to enable them to help children learn about and appreciate these concepts.

We already have a waiting list of teachers hoping to participate.

But we don’t have the funding to make it happen—yet.

Here’s where you come in:

Through advertising and networking efforts, we have a list of teachers who are willing and able to implement the lessons and books into their classrooms.

Factoring in all associated expenses, it costs $4 for us to get the books into each student’s hands. That means that for around $100 we can teach a whole class!

Think of the huge impact on the lives of those students! We get excited thinking about how they will have a sound base of economic knowledge to build on—and make no mistake: they will not have that unless we help them.

Our Goal

We plan to raise at least $40,000 through this campaign so that we can teach 10,000 students.

And that’s just a start—because 10,000 is only a small portion of the students out there that need this. As our project ramps up and we are able to raise money to do so, we have the aspirations to educate 100,000 each year.

Taxpayer-funded curriculum isn’t teaching this material, so young students aren’t learning it—and so we’re losing our opportunity for a freer and more prosperous future.

It’s up to us.

It’s up to you.

Will you contribute?