QR, Publishing ee al Publishing & Multimedia ‘Tek: (212) 684-0597 Fax: (212) 684-0597 3 January, 1993 Malcolm S. Forbes, Jr. Editor-in-Chief Forbes 60 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10011 I read with interest Thomas Sowell’ and wrong" in which he pointed out that systems of monitoring such as conscience, social ties and self- monitoring were more powerful than more "rationalistic systems." Though I agree in principle, one should note two points. Firstly, conscience, expressed as guilt, can also have destructive effects on individuals and society. “A bad a view conscience," wrote Nietzsche, "is a kind of illness Freud similarly took in his book: Civilization and Its Discontents. Secondly, one's conscience is ultimately an expression of social arrangements; there is no such thing as pure, unadulterated" self-monitoring." What is important is that we must strive to create and preserve social arrangements in which some freedoms are compromised so tthat other freedoms may be gained. For example, the "free- market" is a social arrangement in which one may trade and compete freely but is nevertheless constrained by market- determined prices. The question therefore is: which freedoms are important? Yours sincerely, Ogan Gurel President