Richard Lorenc
Education for a Free Society: Selected Commentary from Richard Lorenc
What do young people need to know to sustain a free society? How do we prepare them to weigh competing ideas, understand economic choices, and exercise the responsibilities of citizenship?
These questions run through the writing of Lexandria President and CEO Richard Lorenc. Across the selected pieces below, Richard considers the knowledge and habits that make self-government possible, and why education is essential to passing them on.
Can U.S. civic culture survive the AI-internet age?
Bay to Bay News
Access to information does not automatically produce informed citizens. As local journalism declines and AI becomes part of everyday life, Richard argues that good citizenship still requires reliable reporting, serious study, and the judgment to distinguish useful information from noise.
Gen Z’s Embrace of Socialism Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone
Issues & Insights · February 19, 2026
Why does socialism appeal to so many young adults? Richard examines the role of economic education and social media, arguing that students need more than personal finance instruction. They also need to understand how markets, competition, and voluntary exchange create opportunities and improve lives.
Education Remains the Key to Good Citizenship
National Review · January 19, 2026
Richard considers education’s role in cultivating informed, patriotic citizens.
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Instead of guiding us, the Overton window now mirrors our divisions
The Hill · November 12, 2025
Ideas once considered politically impossible can eventually become accepted policy. But what happens when people stop listening to one another? Richard argues that persuasion depends on civic habits we need to recover: curiosity, humility, and a willingness to test our convictions against evidence and competing views.
How Americans can reduce conflict in these hyperpoliticized times
Washington Examiner · November 10, 2025
Political disagreement is inevitable; hostility need not be. Richard offers practical ways to improve our conversations, from checking our assumptions and hearing others out to finding interests beyond politics. A worthwhile exchange does not have to end in agreement.
Lessons for Gen Z not taught in school
American Thinker · August 7, 2025
Do your own work. Ask for help. Use language precisely. Recognize that your time has value. Drawing on his own experience, Richard offers students practical advice for school and life—and encourages parents and grandparents to help pass these lessons on.
Economics in Four Words: Everything Has a Cost
The Daily Economy · January 17, 2025
Every choice opens some opportunities and closes others. Richard makes the case for economics as a core part of education, helping students understand the tradeoffs behind personal decisions and public policy. Understanding those costs is part of preparing for responsible citizenship.
Communism’s Lingering Grip on Soul and Society: ‘Generations of Devastation’
The Daily Economy · November 7, 2024
Drawing on his family’s experience in Communist Poland and a childhood conversation with a boy in East Berlin, Richard explores the human costs of authoritarian control. Beyond the deaths and imprisonment are lasting injuries to family life, trust, individuality, and the freedom to make ordinary choices.
Lexandria’s Unique Educational Entrepreneurship
Capitalists for Capitalism Magazine · Print feature
Entrepreneurship begins with seeing opportunities others have overlooked. Richard explains how that insight helped shape Lexandria: bringing existing educational content into classrooms, helping teachers introduce American principles, and measuring how those materials serve students.
Originally published in print; the magazine spread appears below.
