Steve Forbes

From Steve Forbes, the iconic editor in chief of Forbes Media, and Elizabeth Ames coauthors of How Capitalism Will Save Us—comes a new way of thinking about the role of government and the morality of free markets.

Americans today are at a turning point. Are we a coun­try founded on the values of freedom and limited gov­ernment, as envisioned by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Or do we want to become a European-style socialist democ­racy? What best serves the public good—freedom or Big Government?

In Freedom Manifesto, Forbes and Ames offer a new twist on this historic debate. Today’s bloated and bureau­cratic government, they argue, is anything but a force for compassion. Instead of assuring fairness, it promotes favoritism. Instead of furthering opportunity, it stifles economic growth. Instead of unleashing innovation and material abundance, its regulations and price controls create rigidity and scarcity. Not only are Big Govern­ment’s inefficient and ever-expanding bureaucracies ill-equipped to deliver on their promises—they are often guilty of the very greed, excess, and corruption routinely ascribed to the private sector.

The only way to a truly fair and moral society, the authors say, is through economic freedom—free people and free markets. Throughout history, open markets have helped the poor and everyone else by unleashing unprecedented creativity, generating wealth, and raising living standards. Promoting trust, generosity, and de­mocracy, economic freedom has been a more powerful force for individual rights, self-determination—and hu­manity—than any government bureaucracy.

Freedom Manifesto captures the spirit of a new movement that is questioning old ideas about the mo­rality of government and markets for the first time since the Great Depression. Going beyond the familiar explanations and sound bites, the authors provide a fully developed framework of “first principles” for a true understanding of the real moral and ethical distinctions between more and less government. This timely and provocative book shows why free markets and liberty are the only way to a better future and a fair and humane society.

Has capitalism failed?
Is it fundamentally greedy and immoral, enabling the rich to get richer? Are free markets Darwinian places where the most ruthless crush smaller competitors, where vital products and services are priced beyond the ability of many people to afford them?
Capitalism is the world's greatest economic success story. It is the most effective way to provide for the needs of people and foster the democratic and moral values of a free society. Yet the worst recession in decades has widely—and understandably—shaken people's faith in our system. Even before the current crisis, capitalism received a "bad rap" from a culture ambivalent about free markets and wealth creation. This crisis of confidence is preventing a full recognition of how we got into the mess we're in today—and why capitalism continues to be the best route to prosperity.
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Capitalism is the world's greatest economic success story. It is the most effective way to provide for the needs of people and foster the democratic and moral values of a free society. Yet the worst recession in decades has widely shaken people's faith in our system. This crisis of confidence is preventing a full recognition of how we got into the mess we're in today—and why capitalism continues to be the best route to prosperity.

How Capitalism Will Save Us shows how the economy really works. When free people in free markets have energy to solve problems and meet the needs and wants of others, they turn scarcity into abundance and develop the innovations that are the foremost drivers of economic growth. In the capitalist system, economic growth doesn't mean more of the same. It's about change to increase overall wealth and give more people the chance for a better life.
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File your taxes on a postcard? Impossible! Guess again, says Steve Forbes, in his important new book Flat Tax Revolution. In fact, countries around the world have freed their taxpayers to do just that—and we can too with a simple flat tax that will slash tax rates, spur economic growth, and put the IRS out of business.

As Steve Forbes shows, the Flat Tax shouldn’t be a partisan issue—it should be a taxpayer issue. And you can make it happen.
What are you waiting for? Buy this book and join the crusade!