I would have never imagined that I’d be living, working, and teaching in Guatemala. But today, as I walked onto the campus of Universidad Francisco Marroquin and came across the Adam Smith Plaza, I just thought to myself: perhaps the invisible hand has taken me here.
“The invisible hand” is a concept first articulated by the great free-market economist Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, which was published in 1776. While the history of mankind has been mostly one of governments and rulers attempting to order society through force, Adam Smith’s concept of the “invisible hand” argued that free individuals operating in a free economy, making decisions primarily focused on their self-interest logically take actions that benefit society as a whole, even though those results were not the focus or intent of those actions.
I suppose my “self-interest” of building a business and using my time here in Guatemala to do so, is also going to have the benefit of helping others – those who join the community of aspiring entrepreneurs I will be launching soon – as well as the students I will start teaching here at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin.
I visited this school during my trip to Guatemala in May 2019. I formed some connections here that later led me back here. This past Wednesday, I came back to the campus and met with one of those people, Pablo Velasquez, at the Leonard Read home, where the office of the President of UFM is located and where his leadership team works from.
Let’s pause for a moment to remind you of who Leonard Read was and why this important building was named for him. He is the author of one of the most famous essays explaining innovation and the free market, called “I, Pencil.” It’s worth a read if you’ve never read it. I actually had already put it on the syllabus for the first class I am teaching here on entrepreneurship and innovation. When I toured the Leonard Read home, I also was brought into a room that was associated with the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), an organization that is the oldest liberty movement organization in the United States. In fact, Leonard Read was FEE’s first president.
Speaking of dates… 2021 is FEE’s 75th anniversary. 2021 is also the 50th anniversary of the Universidad Francisco Marroquin. And, it is also the 75th anniversary of the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), an international classical liberal organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals, and business leaders. UFM owes most of its own foundation to both FEE and the MPS. It is only fitting that this November, UFM will host the 75th annual meeting of the MPS on their campus. It will be swarming with some of the top free-market thinkers from around the world.
During my tour of the campus, I also learned that 2021 is the 200th anniversary of the independence of Guatemala (from Spain). The official Independence Day is on September 15th and that date will mark Guatemala’s bicentennial. What a year for me to spend in Guatemala! I’d like to say I planned it this way, but I did not. While I am quite the planner in many other things, sometimes things just come together in perfect harmony and my time here at UFM seems to coincide with that. As someone who is an avid fan of history of all these organizations, my heart about leapt out of my chest realizing the monumental year it is going to be at UFM and in Guatemala and that I will be here to experience it.
After meeting Pablo and some other UFM staff at the Leonard Read home, he took me to the Henry Hazlitt Center (seriously!) This is the center where I will have my office and it is also named for the great free-market economist known best for his book, Economics in One Lesson. We picked out my workspace and right behind my desk are cardboard cutouts of some of the greatest free-market thinkers and writers including F.A. Hayek, Ludwig Von Mises, and Milton Friedman. There are some small private (and quiet) rooms here too for private meetings or phone or video calls. I can imagine being able to run some of my webinars or even virtual podcast interviews here in the future. UFM is not only giving me a place to teach at, but also the freedom to use the facilities for any of the needs of the business I am building. They are amazing!
Pablo then walked me over to the Ludwig Von Mises Library. Yes, seriously. These great names are everywhere. I told Pablo and other staff here: so many Americans I know who are such fans of these economists probably cannot even imagine a school like UFM exists, much less in Central America! Along the grounds and the walls and of many of the buildings are pictures, statues, busts, and descriptions of so many historical figures and economists along with their importance and influence. Maybe one day I will simply breeze by these, but on these first days here I find myself wanting to stop and read everything.
On top of being what I would call a “free-market oasis” in Central America, I also would call the UFM campus a physical oasis. It is a very green campus. Lots of trees and green spaces, along with red brick buildings. It is so beautiful and picturesque. There are cafes and lunch spots, in covered patios. As I write this, I am sitting at an outdoor covered patio where I ate some healthy food, while I listen to the birds chirping on a very quiet campus. Due to the pandemic, students are only slowly coming back to in-person classes. Only about 40% of them are back in-person, so it’s quieter than it was in previous years. However, the many faculty and staff who are on campus have remarked how wonderful it is to see students again. It was quieter in 2020 than it is now. They are seeing life slowly return to campus. It will be a nice time to be here.
This morning, I was back on campus to connect with some of the staff in the entrepreneurship center (yes, they have an entrepreneurship center here – named after Israel Kirzner!) They outlined to me all the great programs they offer to help students not only learn in the classroom but take on the challenge of being an entrepreneur by starting a business. This is very unique. Almost no U.S. universities (or anywhere else) offer something practical like this. In addition, they wanted to hear about my entrepreneurship story – from my podcast interviewing innovators, to the business I am working on launching. They offered to be as helpful to me as possible and even think my business might be a great resource for many UFM students.
After our meeting, they took me to the student center to retrieve my UFM ID. I guess this makes me official here as a guest professor. I start teaching my first class on Tuesday. Who would have thought my first teaching experience would be at a university in Guatemala? I guess some things can’t be planned. You just have to pursue your interests and let the Invisible Hand take you where it may.