Free To Choose

If you don't know who Milton Friedman is, you really should. In my opinion this is the best documentary/debate ever televised. It's a ten part series, each part an hour long. The first half of each episode is a documentary style film by Milton Friedman. The second half of each episode is a debate on the issues brought up in the first of half of the episode. It was made in 1980, but the issues brought up and debated are just as important then as they are today.

1. Power of the Market

America's freedom and prosperity derive from the combination of the idea of human liberty in America's Declaration of Independence with the idea of economic freedom in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Friedman explains how markets and voluntary exchange organize activity and enable people to improve their lives. He also explains the price system. Friedman visits Hong Kong, U.S. and Scotland

2. The Tyranny of Control

Government planning and detailed control of economic activity lessens productive innovation, and consumer choice. Good, better, best, are replaced by "approved" or "authorized." Friedman shows how "established" industries or methods, seek government protection or subsidization in their attempts to stop or limit product improvements which they don't control. Friedman visits India, Japan and U.S


3. Anatomy of a Crisis

The Great Depression has been popularly viewed as a failure of capitalism. The stock market crash, the failure of the Bank of the United States, loss of personal savings, were visible symbols supporting this belief. As Friedman explains, the real cause was the unseen failure of government policy and action. Yet this crisis resulting from government failure leads to decades of government expansion

4. From Cradle to Grave

The welfare state arises from the attempt to do good with other people's money. Such attempts always fail because: Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as his own. Welfare is supply driven. Those spending the money use force to collect it and to insure those receiving it use it for "right" purposes. Good intentions are corrupted by bad means. Friedman visits U.S. and Britain

5. Created Equal

The Declaration of Independence says, "all men are created equal." Friedman explains that this did not mean all persons should or will have equal talents or income. Equal opportunity to better one's self, and the right to personally benefit from the gains realized, are consistent with freedom. Equality of results requires force. Taking from some to give to others destroys freedom and removes the incentive for creating new wealth. Friedman visits India, U.S. and Britain

6. What's Wrong With Our Schools?

Parental choice and parental responsibility in the education of children is the U.S. tradition and is consistent with a free society. Centralized government control has eroded freedom and adversely affected the quality of education. The poor help pay for education for the future rich. Friedman has long advocated using vouchers to solve the problem.

7. Who Protects the Consumer?

Various government agencies have been created on the claim that they will protect the consumer. These agencies restrict freedom, stifle beneficial innovation, and become agents for the industries or groups they are intended to regulate. Friedman explains how the apparent chaos of the market place, the competition of many suppliers for business, is the best protection of consumer interests

8. Who Protects the Worker?

Unions sometimes protect some workers - their members - but usually at the expense of other workers. Government protects its employees and special groups of workers at the expense of other workers. Both unions and government restrict freedom. Friedman explains how the competition of employers for the talents of workers leads to the highest wages and best working conditions

9. How to Cure Inflation

Inflation results when the amount of money printed or coined increases faster than the creation of new goods and services. Money is a "token" of the wealth of a nation. If more tokens are created than new wealth, it takes more tokens to buy the same goods. Friedman explains why politicians like inflation, and why wage and price controls are not solutions to the problem. Friedman visits Japan, U.S. and Britain

10. How to Stay Free

Democracies have only recently been considered desirable. Historically, it was feared that democracies always self destruct when citizens, forgetting that you cannot remove want and misery through legislation, insist on government actions that physically and morally bankrupt their nation. Friedman explains why the United States has so far avoided this outcome and how we can continue to do so.

Leave your opinion, debate an issue but most of all enjoy.

*Sigh*

More "Free Market Drivel"..."Free Market is not Capitalism"

Ben Bernake helped alter the banking regulations to match Friedman's deregulation philosophy. Then the economy collapsed under several crisis.

Friedman's "free market hypothesis" is that markets are self regulating and find "equilibrium" on their own...well...this implies that Monopolies are impossible, Market Power does not exist, Oligopoly are inheirently efficient.
This is also the philosophical groundings of much of the IMF's policies regarding third world loans.

Friedman makes the argument that dictatorship's can not occur under free markets...obviously he doesn't like to bring up Pinochet or Boris Yeltsin, sorry, but simply not true. Friedman consulted Pinochet all the while Pinochet slaughtered all dissenters and those who disagreed with these principals.

He whines about the "force" of taxation all why forgetting that the same "force" creates all property.

He argues how union's don't protect workers and are "unnatural" in his works...of course he NEVER opposes business mergers to increase market share...only workers mergers. Apparently he doesn't believe labor is entitled to the same protections as manufacturers of plastics.

He argues that men are created equal...when no one enforces equality. (I had a lesbian friend be fired cause she was gay...right to work state so no where to turn for justice, sorry, my friend and here friends lack the "market power" to effect this employer.)

Argues against welfare cause you know...life is fair...(I'm always for welfare REFORM, but most welfare goes to business anyway)

Friedman basically held two beliefs, life is fair, and the only right you should exercise are those as a consumer.

It saddens me to see such drivel that tries to pass itself off as real economics, his role in economics is important as he won a nobel prize in 76, but an enormous amount of this is half truths and produced by major corporations to convince the masses that screwing them is okay.

*sigh*

Originally posted by SonOfChaos

More "Free Market Drivel"..."Free Market is not Capitalism"

How is the free market not capitalism? Capitalism simply means to trade one thing for another.

Ben Bernake helped alter the banking regulations to match Friedman's deregulation philosophy.

Can you name one thing that Bernanke has deregulated? Can you name one thing that Bush has deregulated? Bush was the biggest regulator since Nixon. He created many new regulatory bodies for the business and financial sector especially after the 2001 recession and the Enron scandal.

Then the economy collapsed under several crisis.

Because of his regulations that the democratics were more than ecstatic to back.

Friedman's "free market hypothesis" is that markets are self regulating and find "equilibrium" on their own...well...this implies that Monopolies are impossible, Market Power does not exist, Oligopoly are inheirently efficient.

Name one monopoly that isn't government run. (I'll give you a hint: there is none). As far as the idea that businesses are self regulating, there is much truth to that. Think about it if say a drug company releases a drug that does not do what they promise or causes harm to their customers, how long do you think before the law suits start pouring in? How much money would a company lose for not making sure their product is safe and/or does not do what they promise?

This is also the philosophical groundings of much of the IMF's policies regarding third world loans.

Friedman had often made known what he thought of the IMF.

Friedman makes the argument that dictatorship's can not occur under free markets...obviously he doesn't like to bring up Pinochet or Boris Yeltsin, sorry, but simply not true.

And how much freedom exactly did these dictators allow their own citizens?

Friedman consulted Pinochet all the while Pinochet slaughtered all dissenters and those who disagreed with these principals.

A free market economy is not only for products, it is also a free market of ideas. Milton friedman often uttered the phrase "voluntary cooperation" meaning that his views should not be forced onto anyone.

He whines about the "force" of taxation all why forgetting that the same "force" creates all property.

Never did he say he wanted a society without government. He was just adament about limited government where their only role was enforce property rights, protect individual rights, and protect its nation. America was founded on the basis of fighting for lower taxes (Boston Tea Party). Sadly these days all the talk is about who's money can we steal now.

He argues how union's don't protect workers and are "unnatural" in his works...

Many of them don't because of corrupt Union leaders taking payoffs from the company so that the company can do as they please. This is well known that many of the larger unions like the UAW are as corrupt as they come. The only people that benefit from a union is people in the unions and politicians who rely on donations and votes from unions. Union leaders always have and always will sell their members down the river; if the price is right.

of course he NEVER opposes business mergers to increase market share...

Do these businesses end up benefitting their consumers? They better or else they get run out of business. Unions on the other hand, who do they have please? The only people they worry about satisfying is themselves regardless of whether or not the business that employs them collapses because of their greed.

He argues that men are created equal...when no one enforces equality. (I had a lesbian friend be fired cause she was gay...right to work state so no where to turn for justice, sorry, my friend and here friends lack the "market power" to effect this employer.)

Was that the actual reason for the firing? I have been around long enough where people who are fired because the company finds no use for them often make up excuses as to why they were fired. If she was an excellent worker and a vital asset to the company, then that is their loss.

Argues against welfare cause you know...life is fair...(I'm always for welfare REFORM, but most welfare goes to business anyway)

Their is a simple reason why welfare is stupid. It rewards laziness, mistakes and stupidity whether the recipient is rich or poor.

Friedman basically held two beliefs, life is fair, and the only right you should exercise are those as a consumer.

Quite the contrary, if you have ever listened to or read any of his work, you should know that he often said that their is nothing fair about life. "Their is nothing fair about a child being born blind" is a quote he often used. What he was talking about is equal opportunity where no matter your race, religion, creed etc that everyone would have access to the same chances at reaching success. You would know that if you watched any of the videos.

It saddens me to see such drivel that tries to pass itself off as real economics, his role in economics is important as he won a nobel prize in 76, but an enormous amount of this is half truths and produced by major corporations to convince the masses that screwing them is okay.

No country on this planet has ever implemented the kind of economics that he was talking about. More and more countries are starting to realize the inefficiency of government and starting to change according. I am expecting that very soon the US will get reminded of that fact in a very devastating way with the election of the new FDR.

Originally posted by Cool Hand Luke

Originally posted by SonOfChaos
More "Free Market Drivel"..."Free Market is not Capitalism"

How is the free market not capitalism? Capitalism simply means to trade one thing for another.

My understanding is that in capitalism, a person or an entity...corporation...provides the capital for factories, for example, and makes money from the difference between costs...including labour...and selling price.

As I just mentioned in another thread, this world no longer exists. Nobody noticed that when communism fell, the same forces brought down capitalism as well. However, we used credit to deny and delay the inevitable. Now we're in a bit of a muddle. Milton Friedman is a relic of a financial theory that became passe the first time the Ontario Teacher's pension fund demanded 10% from their mutual funds. All in broad strokes, of course.