To receive the Champion of Freedom Award from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy is noteworthy. To deliver at least 75 speeches on economics and freedom annually since 1985 in virtually every state and dozens of countries is staggering. But Lawrence Reed also has written nearly 2,000 articles for journals, magazines and newspapers in the United States and aboard.

Those accomplishments constitute merely a sampling of a legendary career for Reed, president emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education and keynote speaker at an upcoming conference in Grand Junction. Reed is scheduled to deliver an address titled “The Seven Principles of Free Markets” at the eighth annual Western Slope Economic Leadership Conference set for Nov. 7 at the Colorado Mesa University Center Ballroom.

The Freedom & Responsibility Education Enterprise (FREE) Foundation, a Grand Junction-based nonprofit organization, hosts the conference for high school juniors and seniors from Western Colorado. The FREE Foundation promotes free market concepts by helping students and teachers learn about economics, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and free enterprise.

The conference combines lectures and hands-on activities to introduce students to economic principles and leadership. Speakers provided by the Foundation for Economic Education and the generosity of local donors enables students and teachers to attend at no charge.

Why is the study of economics so important? Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University, put it this way: “Economics is everywhere, and understanding economics can help you make better decisions and lead a happier life.”

Ludwig von Mises, an economist who developed the axiom individuals act purposely to achieve desired goals, said: “Economics is not about goods and services. It is about human choice and action.”

For individuals to act purposely, they must understand basic economic principles. Although not exhaustive, these economic principles include:

The notion of scarcity, in which people must make choices involving limited resources.

All choices involve costs.

People choose the alternatives they perceive to offer the greatest excess of benefits over cost.

People respond to incentives.

Prices are powerful incentives.

Voluntary trade creates wealth.

In his keynote address, Reed will describe the philosophic and economic pillars of a free society along with the proper role of government.

The leadership portion of the conference is titled “Are Geniuses Born or Are They Made?” Tunji Adebayo, a motivational speaker, will strive to inspire students to discover their unique strengths, cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets, remain motivated despite hardships, foster innovative thinking and embrace accountability.

Howard Beatty, the third presenter at the conference, has designed a game called “Economics in One Hour” to teach voluntary exchange, government actions and entrepreneurial wealth generation. Beatty will conduct two breakout sessions for student activities to demonstrate economic principles.

In discussing the importance of economic theory, Milton Friedman said: “There is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.”

Students attending the Western Slope Economic Leadership Conference will learn human flourishing is the result of human action, including cooperation, free exchange, secure property rights and wealth creation. It is the wonder of free enterprise.