The Friedmans are best known for their articulate and unwavering defense of the free market. Their policy objective is, simply, "the promotion of human freedom." This goal, they tell us, "underlies our opposition to rent control and general wage and price controls, our support for educational choice, privatizing radio and television channels, an all-volunteer army, limitation of government spending, legalization of drugs, privatizing Social Security, free trade, and the deregulation of industry and private life to the fullest extent possible." Milton and Rose were libertarians--aggressively vocal libertarians--before libertarians were cool.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Another Couple Thoughts on Friedman
To add to Kroger's well-put post, Milton Friedman is the father of the author of Hidden Order, which we are currently using in class, and I will add one link: a tribute written about 10 years ago by economist Greg Mankiw. The reason I am linking to that article is that is has a quote from Milton and his wife summarizing their views on policy:
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3 comments:
Little did I know that our beloved Friedman was so controversial. (And I emphasize beloved due to the fact that his book has got to be about a thousand times more interesting than the text book.)I like the fact that so many people disagree with his views on various different economic topics. Without controversy, how will new ideas be formed? The most controversial people can radically change ways of thinking and I believe that the more people oppose your opinions then the harder you work to prove them wrong. Maybe it’s the shock and awe factor that drives people, either way, without that motivation, who's to say we would be as far as we are today? So good for him, dying an economics legend even if it was because he could be so disagreeable.
-Lauren
Friedman's views on this free market go along with what he says in his book that people will make rational decisions. This free market he speaks of will let a person make all of his down decisions and either be rewarded or pay the price for those decisions. And since he believed people would make rational decisions, then this free market would be succesfull. I am glad that Milton and Rose were able to show their thoughts and beliefs and not care what others thought about them. I really enjoy reading economics in the differnet perspective that Friendman put it in and it is a shame that he has passes away.
Taylor
I agree with Lauren's thoughts about controversy leads to new thoughts and ideas. Also adding to this idea, some people tend to follow along with what other views have been formed instead of forming their own. With Friedman forming his own ideas and expressing them, it allows people to agree or disagree. You will always have both, but for the ones that agree, they now have a new way of thinking to expand on, one that they might not have already thought of without Friedman's push in the right direction.
-Danielle
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