Automatic urinals make world cleaner

By Julie Trac
News Editor

“We’re lucky to have to worry about pollution.” Some may disagree with that statement; however, Don Boudreaux believes it is the truth.

It was the thesis of his lecture titled, “Cleaned by Capitalism” on Monday, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. in the Finley Lecture Hall of the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center.

Boudreaux is chairman of the department of economics at George Mason University (GMU) located in Fairfax, VA since August 2001 where he taught Principles of Microeco-nomics.

“Cleaned by Capitalism” focused on how modern capitalism has made our world cleaner.    Boudreaux stated, “[Hy-giene] is so much of our daily existence that we ignore it.”

During the lecture, he spoke about washrooms at LaGuardia Airport in New York and how open trash receptacles, automatic urinals, sinks, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers have made our world “just a little cleaner.”

In addition to automatic washrooms, Boudreaux listed numerous inventions which have made our ancestor and our lives cleaner and therefore, better. Such inventions include the wire mesh screen and glass panes, inexpensive building materials and household furniture, pesticides, indoor plumbing and the automobile.

Prior to his current position at GMU, Boudreaux was president of the Foundation for Economic Education (1997-2001); Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Economics at Clemson University (1992-1997) and Assistant Professor of Economics at GMU (1985-1989).

Boudreaux received his Ph.D. in economics from Auburn University and his law degree from the University of Virginia.

In addition to his most recent lecture at MC, Boudreaux has lectured in Canada, Europe and Latin America.

Adding to his impressive resume, Boudreaux has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Regulation, Reason, Ideas on Liberty, The Washington Times, The Journal of Commerce, the Cato Journal and several scholarly journals such as the Supreme Court Economic Review, Southern Economic Journal, Antitrust Bulletin and Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking.

More information about Boudreaux can be found On-line at www.cafehayek.com.