I was recently asked in a group setting, "If you could have dinner with anyone (dead or alive), who would it be?" My answer was Johan Norberg, the Swedish libertarian crusader for free markets. Imagining the span of all history, I figured there must be plenty of people more impressive than Norberg and who have made a bigger impact on the world, but that answer seemed right. I still think I'd give the same answer now that I've given it more thought.

Norberg seems like a friendy and personable guy. He seems like the type you could sit and chat with at a coffeeshop. He's very well-travelled and well-versed on issues in today's quickly-changing world. Besides, I am quite shy, and having dinner with Einstein or Dostoevsky or Marx might be a bit too much.

Two people I've recently discovered have given me "A-ha!" moments. They are Dave Ramsey and Johan Norberg. My dad and Shawn S. had both been trying to get me to listen to Dave Ramsey for a while. When I finally did (about a year and a half ago), I was instantly hooked because suddenly someone else was saying the things that I'd been thinking for years. Someone else hated debt and avoided it at all costs, someone else was against credit cards and car payments and believed the average person could get by without them. A-ha!

I had a similar experience when I first read this Reason Magazine interview with Johan Norberg. I realized he said things I'd been thinking for years. Of course, he said them much better than I'd ever thought them.