The Greedy Capitalist: David Veksler's Homepage :: Essay

A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity. -- Robert A. Heinlein

IHS:

A list of the five intellectual figures or books that have

most influenced your philosophical and political

thinking, and a single sentence for each stating how it

has influenced you.

Free to Choose – This book was my first introduction to free market concepts and the harmful effects of government regulation and intervention

Murray N. Rothbard – As I learned more about libertarian ideas, I started to read Rothbard from whom I gained a new perspective on the political spectrum and what it meant to choose freedom.

Economics in One Lesson – Henry Hazzlit explained many economic and social fallacies that I had grown up hearing, which confirmed and reinforced my belief in a free market.

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand gave me a philosophical argument for free will and the pursuit self-interest and provided a foundation for my ethical system on top of my libertarian political beliefs.

Ludwig Von Mises – Reading daily articles and commentary from the Mises Institute gave me an introduction to Austrian economics and explained its application to current events and upcoming issues.

Dr. Morgan Reynolds – My Law and Economics professor explained the benefits of a free market and limited government from a Chicago-based efficiency standpoint and renewed my faith in academia, even though he has been the only libertarian professor I have ever taken.

A statement of no more than 250 words on your career

goals, immediate and long term, and how the

Summer Fellow Program would help you reach them.

As a political science and economics major, I am interested in graduating as a double major with a minor in Russian and eventually going on to business school to receive an MBA. I am passionate about my message of liberty and free markets and would like to promote market-based ideas in the business world. I am highly skilled in computer technology, and would like to apply those skills in the market while advancing the cause for freedom. I am currently fluent in two languages, English and Russian, and by the time I complete my education hope to be fluent in three. With these sets of skills, I am particularly interested in participating in business ventures in the former Eastern-Bloc which advance private investment and property rights (rather than the more common methods of quasi-government schemes attempting to mimic private firms). I am particularly inspired by the market-based management of Koch Industries, and I would like to use those concepts in my own business pursuits.

A statement of no more than 500 words about which

policy issues and potential host organizations interest

you and why. A complete list of participating policy

groups is available on the IHS web page; however, you

may indicate organizations not on the list.

I am interested in many policy issues, but primarily economic ones such as fiscal and monetary policy. I am also interested in health care and environmental policy – specifically free-market reforms of healthcare and private property solutions. I think that the CATO institute and CEI would be perfect places for me to have my internship. As a former member of the Sierra Club, I was very concerned with environmental issues. Since then, I have read several books on free market approaches to environmental problems, and CEI has been a major source of information for me, from whom I have discovered property rights as a superior alternative to corporate taxation and regulation. As an economics major, I am also very interested in various economic issues, such as social security, monetary policy, and regulation of international trade, which have lead to me to be a regular reader of CATO editorials and reports.

A brief essay, 500 words or less, about why you would like to participate in a seminar. You might discuss: what interests you about classical liberal or libertarian ideas; what intellectual figures or works have most contributed to your thinking on political, social and economic issues; or what you hope to learn or gain from the seminar

I would like to participate in the IHS summer seminar because I am deeply interested in ideas about liberty and would like to obtain the intellectual ammunition I need to support and promote my libertarian beliefs.

I have not always been a supported of classical liberalism. My family emigrated from the USSR when I was ten because my father believed that the things he believed made America great were liberty and self-determination – something I did not come to believe until much later. When I was going through high school, I was exposed to and accepted the dominant liberal ideology that viewed government intervention as crucial in all areas of society and economics. When I started college as an aerospace engineering major, I became involved in political issues that matched the liberal ideas I had been exposed to in high school, but as I read more and more about economics, I started seeing the fundamental incompatibilities of statist policy with reality. Milton Friedman’s _Free to Choose_ was my first introduction to free market concepts and the harmful effects of government regulation and intervention, followed by _Economics in One Lesson_ by Henry Hazzlit, who explained many economic and social fallacies that I had grown up hearing and confirmed and reinforced my belief in a free market.

At the beginning sophomore year, I decided to change my major to economics and political science so I could study my newly discovered interest in economics full time. Dr. Morgan Reynolds – my Law and Economics professor explained the benefits of a free market and limited government from a Chicago-based efficiency standpoint and renewed my faith in academia, even though he has been the only libertarian professor I have ever taken. Reading daily articles and commentary from the Mises Institute introduced Austrian economics and explained its application to current events and upcoming issues. Ayn Rand’s _Atlas Shrugged_ gave me a philosophical argument for free will and the pursuit of self-interest and filled in the ethical system on top of my libertarian political beliefs.

My formal academic education starkly contrasts the libertarian beliefs that I have come to hold -- my classes are often a struggle to defend my ideas to myself, my professors and my classmates. Because of this, I would greatly appreciate the chance to learn about ideas on liberty first hand from a group such as the IHS. I have been very active in speaking about classical liberal ideas these last two years and with the help of the IHS, I can learn to present my ideas even more effectively.

*2. A brief essay, 200 words or less, about your career interests. You might explain your career interests and priorities, your plans for the next two years, or your seminar choice

As a political science and economics major, I am interested in graduating as a double major with a minor in Russian and going on to business school to receive an MBA. I am passionate about my message of liberty and free markets and would like to promote it from the perspective of a successful executive, whatever field I end up working at. I am currently fluent in two languages and by the time I complete my education, I hope to be fluent in three so that I can work with international firms and help spread capitalism and liberty around the world.

OAC:

Describe your career goals and how attending the OAC will be of value to you. 500-word limit.

I would like to participate in the OAC Undergraduate Program because I am deeply interested in Objectivism and would like to obtain the intellectual ammunition I need to

support and promote reason on campus and in my future vocation.

I will be graduating next year as a double major with a political science and economics double major degree and a minor in Russian and going on to get a Masters of Science in Management of Information Systems. I am passionate about my ideas on reason, liberty and free markets and would like to promote it from the perspective of a successful businessman, in whatever field I end up working at. I am currently fluent in two languages and by the time I complete my education, I hope to be fluent in three so that I can work with international firms and help spread capitalism and liberty around the world.

Despite having emigrated from the USSR in 1990 with my family, and experiencing communism firsthand, I became politically involved in the liberal movement in high school, and continued my involvement until my freshman year at Texas A&M, where I was first exposed to free-market economics and began to see more and more inconsistencies in the liberal position. As I became more and more interested in laissez faire ideas, I changed my major to economics at the beginning of my sophomore year. At this point, a friend recommended that I read Ayn Rand, who quickly changed my attitude on life.

Since then, I have helped start up and lead the local Objectivist Club where organized and promoted a speech by Dr Yaron Brook. I have promoted my view to several student groups, designed and spread fliers around campus giving rational perspectives on various current issues, and promoted and defended my ideas to my family, my friends, my classmates and my professors.

Because my formal academic education starkly contrasts the Objectivist beliefs that I have come to hold, my education is often a struggle to defend my ideas to myself, my professors and my classmates. The OAC would provide the ideas and arguments I need to defend and promote Objectivism in my formal education, my extracurricular activities and in my future vocation.