When Free to Choose

When Free to Choose is the signature publication of Northwood University. It is dedicated to promoting the global, diverse and multi-cultural nature of enterprise. Bringing lessons of the American free enterprise society directly to your inbox or mailbox, When Free to Choose features informative essays about timely issues and events, and thought-provoking point-counterpoint essays written by industry experts, faculty, scholars and researchers.

The Northwood Idea in Action: A Conversation with State Rep. Parker Fairbairn

As Michigan grapples with economic challenges and the nation celebrates 250 years of American independence, what will it take to strengthen free enterprise, encourage public service and create greater opportunities for future generations? In this special faculty-alumnus interview, Dr. Brett M. Decker, Northwood University’s Endowed Chair of Leadership, sits down with state Rep. Parker Fairbairn...

By Dr. Brett M. Decker

Student View: Incentives, Poverty and the Power of Expectations

By Dalani Paulsell, Northwhood University Economic difficulties have been analyzed using facts and figures, as well as the formulation of policies and theories. However, it is sometimes difficult to see the real-life aspect of such problems. Hillbilly Elegy, written by J. D. Vance, provides a personal insight into the author’s life, describing the hardships he...

Can Philanthropy and Investing Replace the Failing Welfare State?

Michael and Susan Dell are donating $6.25 billion to help fund savings accounts for 25 million children nationwide. Ray and Barbara Dalio are doing something similar in Connecticut. They have announced a contribution of $75 million to benefit 300,000 children in their home state. The accounts to which Dell and Dalio are contributing can be...

By Kristin Tokarev, Dr. Glenn Moots, Dr. Alex Tokarev

Americans Understand Free Enterprise — When It Is Defined

As November approaches, the midterm elections are emerging as a referendum — nationally and in Michigan — on America’s economic future and the systems we rely upon. Recent research from Gallup lends new insight into how Americans feel about economic systems: free enterprise, capitalism and socialism. Results underscore why it’s so important to foster knowledge...

By Kate Hessling

Amaze, Amaze, Amaze: How Friendship Expands Self-Interest in Project Hail Mary

If you haven’t watched Project Hail Mary, please do, and be aware: spoilers ahead. This movie is not only a masterpiece of filmmaking, but it also delivers a powerful life lesson, one that goes beyond the screen and speaks to something very deep and fundamental about human relationships. The story does not present us with...

By Dr. Gabriel Benzecry

Smarter Tools, Smarter Students

A Student View by Alaina C. Taube, Northwood University Artificial intelligence is often misunderstood, especially in academic settings. Many people immediately associate AI with cheating, as if using it automatically replaces thinking rather than enhancing it. But this view misses the bigger picture. AI is not a shortcut around learning; it’s a tool that, when...

By Alaina C. Taube

A Declaration for Every Generation

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a good time to remind ourselves that a revolution is not one thing, but many things. In the late 18th century, Americans underwent an ideological, political, cultural, and economic revolution that reshaped their present lives and their nation’s future. In this way, the Declaration of Independence...

By Dr. Dale Moler

The Times That Try Men’s Souls: The Revolution on the Brink

What was the American Revolution? The Declaration of Independence established it as a new way of thinking about liberty and government. But the Revolution also involved a War for Independence that shaped the way those Americans thought about themselves and their former rulers. Just as the ideas of the founders helped create the United States,...

By Dr. Dale Moler, Dr. Alex Tokarev, Kristin Tokarev

Regulators Can’t Keep Up with the AI Economy

ChatGPT marked the third anniversary of its public launch last autumn. Its extraordinary success stands as a potent reminder — particularly for policymakers — of how quickly innovation can reorder entire industries. Within five days of ChatGPT’s release, one million people had signed up for it. Two months later, it had 100 million users. Today,...

By Dr. Brett M. Decker

Timeless Values: ‘Mobility is Freedom’

In a world of constant change, the enduring principles of The Northwood Idea remain steadfast. Personal freedom, individual responsibility and the rule of law are not relics of another era — they are the permanent foundations of a free and flourishing society. It is therefore fitting to revisit the voices and lessons that have most...

By Dr. Timothy Nash, Dr. Robert W. Serum

The Reagan Revolution: When Common Sense Beat ‘Expert’ Economics

A Student View by Oliver Jarvis, Lilly Lauzon, A. Noel Tokarev, and Kristin Tokarev When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, America was in trouble. Prices were rising by double digits on an annual basis. Interest rates? Nearly 20%. Unemployment? Persistently high. The Keynesian economists from the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter years had given...

By Oliver T. Jarvis, Lillian Lauzon, A. Noel Tokarev, Kristin Tokarev

This Country Tried Central Planning; Free Markets Won!

After World War II, Germany was in ruins. Cities leveled, infrastructure destroyed, tens of millions killed or severely injured, morale shattered… The Nazi regime had left behind not only devastation, but a command-and-control economy riddled with inflation and rationing. Police forces were gutted by the Allied regime. Theft and black markets became a way of...

By Madeline Heil, Dani Pohl, Kristin Tokarev

How Ideas Made the World Rich: A Tribute to Deirdre McCloskey

Deirdre McCloskey has reshaped the study of economic history by insisting that ideas, not institutions or capital, made us rich. This prolific author is one of the rare figures in modern academia whose work crosses disciplines and defies labels. Drawn as a teenager to utopian and revolutionary theories, McCloskey grew up to realize that noble...

By Art Carden, Dr. Alex Tokarev

Exploring China’s Shift from Communal Poverty to Private Prosperity

Just 50 years ago, China was one of the poorest countries on Earth. Many of its people lived in mud-brick homes. Most were undernourished. Everyone was trapped in a rigid communist system that crushed initiative. Today, it is the world’s second-largest economy by some measures, home to gleaming megacities and the largest middle class by...

By A. Noel Tokarev, Kristin Tokarev, Li Schoolland, Adriel Sanchez, Nathan Kniesteadt