While Hollywood actor William Shatner, TV commentator John Stossel, documentary movie maker Dinesh D’Souza, economist Steve Moore, political philosopher George Gilder, and entrepreneur John Mackey, among others, were all well-received at the 10th anniversary of Freedom Fest in Las Vegas last week, the favorite of the 2,100 libertarians assembled was Steve Forbes—magazine publisher, best-selling author, two-time presidential candidate, Heritage Foundation trustee, and homely philosopher.Video: Steve Forbes, introduced by John Stossel, discusses capitalism
Following the off-key but spirited rendition of “Happy Birthday, Dear Steve,” Forbes thanked the crowd for their best wishes on his 70th birthday and proceeded to extoll the many virtues of capitalism. He praised capitalism for being entrepreneurial, creative, innovative, and “a force for good.” (He is no Randian apostle of radical egoism.)
John Stossel shows transition from mainstream news to independent publishing
Firmly pro-life as well as being a libertarian, Forbes remarked: “Our founders understood well: First life, then liberty, then the pursuit of happiness.”Like F. A. Hayek, Forbes acknowledges the importance of traditional morality. “Free markets are moral,” Forbes once told an interviewer, “because they’re fundamentally about meeting the real-world needs and wants of others. … Economic freedom is moral because it does the best job of any system in channeling our self-interest into positive, productive activities that benefit all of society.”
The Steve Forbes’ celebration was an apt ending to Freedom Fest, which was smoothly organized as usual by the economist and classical liberal Mark Skousen. He builds a bigger tent each year, both for libertarians and for conservatives like myself who are curious about the current mindset of our liberty-loving colleagues. Read More:
William Shatner interviewed by FreedomFest founder, Mark Skouren
Part 3 of Mr. Shatner's talk has been viewed by over 137,000 people. (Original video reporting by Scott Jenkins of DemocracyBroadcasting.com)