A visit to Kenan-Flagler

The man whom I voted for in the 1996 Republican primary for President spoke at Kenan-Flagler tonight. Steve Forbes gave the annual Witherspoon Lecture at Koury Auditorium. Some of the topics he talked about include the state of the American economy, the virtues of free trade, and how we can fix health care by introducing competition. But my favorite comments were the ones he saved toward the end. When answering a question from an audience member, he said that it is no coincidence that the most commercial nation on the planet is also the most charitable.

“You succeed in a free society by meeting the needs and wants of the people. Commerce and charity are not opposite but two sides of the same coin.”

It is this absolute dedication to economic freedom that I admire about Forbes. I had the chance to speak to him later in the evening at the Kenan Center reception. I told him I am a big fan and specifically mentioned a review he wrote in Forbes Magazine for a book about how Christianity and its emphasis on free will created the impetus which led to the success of capitalism around the world. I said I was so impressed with it that I mentioned it on my blog. When I told him I voted for him in 1996, he said (paraphrasing) “I wish more people had.”