Free Markets for free men - Milton Friedman
Today is Milton Friedman's birthday. For those of us who are apostles of the "Chicago school" of economics Friedman's ability to articulate and analyze the power of free markets is unparalleled. Anti-capitalist sentiment seems to be Increasing these days. I view this as regrettable.
Today is Milton Friedman's birthday. For those of us who are apostles of the "Chicago school" of economics Friedman's ability to articulate and analyze the power of free markets is unparalleled. Anti-capitalist sentiment seems to be Increasing these days. I view this as regrettable. I deplore "crony capitalism" - which also seems more prevalent today - and am an ardent believer that moral hazard is real and should be allowed to play out. Government's role of "referee" should be focused on maintaining a level playing field of fair competition, not deciding winners and losers. However, we must also realize the inevitable - that there will be winners and losers as a by-product of free markets, competition and creative destruction.
In 1974 Friedman gave a presentation at the University of Chicago which considered whether free men make free markets or vice versa. It is an interesting read, especially as one considers how China tries to navigate the benefits of free capital markets while increasing political oppression.
https://review.chicagobooth.edu/economics/archive/free-markets-free-men
