A Refreshing Model of Free Markets

An anecdote by Zach Foster

This piece originally appeared in The Political Spectrum in January

Today as I was driving home from the gym I saw a couple of kids had set up a lemonade stand on the corner near their home.  I’d just finished working out and was pretty thirsty, plus it’s always great to see kids earning their own cash, so I stopped and bought a glass of lemonade (which was delicious, they did a good job).  I evaluated the situation and was highly pleased with what I saw.

These two kids got their parents’ permission to pick some lemons from the tree in their yard and used them to make the sweet drink I was currently enjoying.  They also invested in buying plastic cups from the discount store.  Then they set up a stand which was attracting the business of thirsty passers-by.  These kids, plain and simple, made a financial investment and created a job for themselves, in which they were turning a good profit.

Better yet, they also hired their little brother, who was a few years younger than them, to hold up their sign for drivers to see as they passed.  They not only created their own jobs, but also a job for their little brother.  He wasn’t making anywhere near as much money as his older siblings, but he was very young, probably too young to have the skills to set up his own stand.  He was very happy that he was making money.  What he didn’t realize was that on top of the money he was earning by working for his enterprising siblings, he was learning valuable skills so that he might one day set up his own lemonade stand.

After their business day was done, these kids most likely would have spent the money they made at the local toy store or candy store, thus stimulating the economy.  What these kids were doing was practicing a perfect model of the free market system.  I was genuinely impressed!  Then I chuckled, realizing that I had just supported not only these young entrepreneurs, but also the free market system in my community.  Then I laughed, knowing this would have infuriated my Marxist friends.