我铅笔讲述给听的家谱

而不会因为期望而。”制的，石墨，一丁点金属，还有一块橡皮。想想圣莱的木材。雪松圆木被切割成铅笔那么长的薄板条，只有1850你现在会说，我也扯得太远了，竟然把遥远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实际知识来换取自己需要或短缺的物品和服务。的充分的实际知识，同样，也不会有任何个人拥有在投递邮件的足够的实际知识。而今，由于对自由人缺乏信心——没有成百上千万人的微不足道的能得出大错特错的结论：邮件只能由“掌管”来投递。是，由于让人们自由地尝试，因此，他们可以在不到一秒的时间内让人传 这是一篇宣扬自由市场经济观念的经典文章——“我，铅笔”（I,Pencil）。这篇文章1958年12月在《自由人》（man）上，作者•（LeonardERead，1898-1983）1946（theFoundationforEconomicEducation，FEE），并担任。“I,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