Capitalism And Freedom, by Milton Friedman
Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 10 years, 4 months ago to Books
Capitalism And Freedom, by Milton Friedman
202 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0-226-26421-9 and ISBN-10: 0-226-26421-1
This book written by Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman with assistance from his wife Rose D. Friedman demonstrates why decades later their influence is still relative and impressive. It is generally an enthusiastic argument for free markets, private versus public solutions and critical of the failures of the welfare state.
This book is a bit dated and does have a few points that with the benefit of hindsight deserve a bit of examination. His lack of enthusiastic appreciation for the gold standard and expectation that governments can be relied upon with the proper controls he recommends to provide sound money have proved less than satisfactory. Also, he underestimated the damage that unions have had on the competitiveness of American industry and makes no mention of prediction regarding the waste and cost public unions have burdened the taxpayers with. This book was written in 1962 before we had completely abandoned the gold standard and Detroit was still a relatively rich industrial powerhouse. We now have over fifty years of additional history and evidence from which to draw from. We can hardly blame this otherwise brilliant economist for the views he held at the time when things looked much more hopeful and it was uncertain the ship of state would take us further down the path of the welfare state.
I would recommend reading this book for its overall message, but for a fresher better reading offered by the Friedmans, it would be wise to read “Free to Choose.” It was written almost two decades later and is a superior work, more reflective of our present condition. And, for a brief, refreshing intro to the perspectives of this brilliant economist examine the many youtube videos including his appearance on the Phil Donahue show.
Respectfully,
O.A.
202 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0-226-26421-9 and ISBN-10: 0-226-26421-1
This book written by Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman with assistance from his wife Rose D. Friedman demonstrates why decades later their influence is still relative and impressive. It is generally an enthusiastic argument for free markets, private versus public solutions and critical of the failures of the welfare state.
This book is a bit dated and does have a few points that with the benefit of hindsight deserve a bit of examination. His lack of enthusiastic appreciation for the gold standard and expectation that governments can be relied upon with the proper controls he recommends to provide sound money have proved less than satisfactory. Also, he underestimated the damage that unions have had on the competitiveness of American industry and makes no mention of prediction regarding the waste and cost public unions have burdened the taxpayers with. This book was written in 1962 before we had completely abandoned the gold standard and Detroit was still a relatively rich industrial powerhouse. We now have over fifty years of additional history and evidence from which to draw from. We can hardly blame this otherwise brilliant economist for the views he held at the time when things looked much more hopeful and it was uncertain the ship of state would take us further down the path of the welfare state.
I would recommend reading this book for its overall message, but for a fresher better reading offered by the Friedmans, it would be wise to read “Free to Choose.” It was written almost two decades later and is a superior work, more reflective of our present condition. And, for a brief, refreshing intro to the perspectives of this brilliant economist examine the many youtube videos including his appearance on the Phil Donahue show.
Respectfully,
O.A.
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