I, Pencil to I, Smartphone – with Lawrence W. Reed

Just as no single person can make a pencil from start to finish, it would be an even harder task to make a smartphone from scratch.

Lawrence W. Reed

Economist and historian Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed is president emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Global Ambassador for Liberty at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of seven books and more than 2,000 articles and blogs at www​.lawrencewreed​.com. 

In 1958, Leonard E. Read told the story of a simple pencil narrating its own creation. His now famous essay “I, Pencil” illustrated the complex web of spontaneous cooperation underlying the production of what, at first glance, appears to be a “simple” product. Decades later, his message still rings true, and might be even more important.

To emphasize the power of the free market for contemporary audiences, Lawrence W. Reed reimagines this story in his new essay “I, Smartphone.” Just as no single person can make a pencil from start to finish, it would be an even harder task to make a smartphone from scratch. What are the lessons we can derive from these examples?

Read the updated version of this classic in economics, still relevant for its elegant defense of individual liberty, global cooperation, voluntary exchange, and the power of spontaneous order.