Students packed a Tulane University auditorium last Tuesday to hear businessman and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes make the case for free enterprise and against socialism.
Hosted by Tulane University Young Americans for Freedom, the event drew more than 200 students and community members, with dozens more turned away at the door after the venue reached capacity.
Forbes spoke on “Why Socialism Isn’t the Answer,” explaining the incentives created by capitalism and making the case that free enterprise has been a driving force behind American innovation, economic growth, and prosperity.
Following his remarks, Forbes took questions from students on socialism, capitalism, and other economic issues, giving attendees the opportunity to engage directly with one of the country’s leading advocates for free enterprise.
The strong turnout came despite repeated efforts to interfere with the chapter’s promotion of the event. In the lead-up to Forbes’ appearance, banners, flyers, and yard signs advertising the lecture were repeatedly stolen, damaged, or vandalized around campus.
Rather than backing down, chapter members continued replacing the materials and promoting the event, ensuring students had the opportunity to hear Forbes make the case for capitalism and free enterprise.
It is more important than ever to bring these conservative ideas to college campuses, where socialism is increasingly finding a foothold among students and in academia. Young Americans deserve the opportunity to hear the case for free enterprise, individual liberty, and the principles that have helped fuel American prosperity.
Young America’s Foundation exists to give students that opportunity. Through its programs, speakers, and campus activism, YAF works to equip young Americans with the ideas and arguments necessary to defend capitalism and free enterprise while challenging the progressive ideology of socialism that continues to spread across college campuses and run rampant in our society.
