The ideas and ideals of economic liberty are critical to the survival of civilization; yet, as Economics Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek noted long ago, the ethics of the market are rarely adopted so quickly as the atavistic values of the tribe—trade only with your friends, work and trade locally—which perpetuate the view of the economy as a zero-sum game. This is understandable. Most people do not have the time or motivation to become versed in the intricacies of public policy. This is what is called “rational ignorance.”

However, even in a rationally ignorant world,
the market can be legitimized. To achieve that result, market proponents
need to emphasize not only the market’s ability to expand human
freedom and improve societal order, but also to advance justice and
fairness. The market has irrevocably proven its ability to create
wealth, expand freedom, and promote democratization; champions of
the market must become better able to communicate that reality.

To learn more, please read Corporate
PR Must Reach People as Consumers and Citizens by Fred Smith
and Jody Clarke.

Field Guide
for Effective Communications

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK (PDF FORMAT)

DOWNLOAD SELECTED CHAPTERS

Published in 2004, CEI's Field
Guide for Effective Communication serves as a single source
for marketing an organization’s agenda and ideas.

Click
here to read Fred Smith's chapter from the Field Guide,
"The Value of Communicating to Joe and Joan Citizen."
In this chapter, Smith examines successful—and not so successful—examples
of how industries have used advertising to communicate to the public,
and how the free-market community can learn from both the successes
and failures.