Commonwealth Policy Center

Fifty years ago this month, America landed a man on the moon. When Astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped out of the Apollo 11 and onto the surface of the moon he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was a major feat and a testimony of America’s spirit of discovery. But why America and not some other nation? America set out to land a man on the moon under JFK in 1961. And we did it before the end of that decade. But reaching the moon was only possible in the United States because we had two things: freedom and the ability to create wealth. Engineers and scientists were free to pursue their dream and citizens were free to create the wealth it took to fund such an undertaking. And this landmark achievement is worth celebrating.