Customer Reviews

Capitalism and Freedom (Phoenix Books)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Milton Friedman, far from just paraphrasing Keynes, has given a grand refutation of Keynesian economics as well as argued persuasively for the free-market.

"Capitalism and Freedom" dispels the myths about capitalism that have become so prevalent in our society: that the free-market caused the depression (it was actually a tyrannical Federal Reserve), that socialism can be democratic, and others. Milton's prose is clear and the book is good for those who haven't majored in economics. He gives an unwavering defense of personal freedom and individual autonomy from a minimalist government perspective.

This book is an important contribution to public discourse and although written about 40 years ago, still has relevance today.

Friedman discusses public education, roads, minimum wage laws (which he calls, "the most anti-black law on the statute books," and rightfully so as you'll see if you read this book), as well as the how so-called "progressive" tax system and welfare actually hurt the poor.

Friedman's other great contribution is "Free to Choose," which was written about 20 years ago and expounds on the ideas in "Capitalism and Freedom" in a bit more depth. But this is a good, short, concise book to start with that'll get you asking questions.

This book quite concisely demonstrates Milton Friedman's gift as an economist. It, however, also depicts his inferiority to Hazlitt in terms of writing ability. While many of his essays and points are very interesting and precise, the book is VERY dry. One should not let the small size fool them when purchasing this book, it takes quite a commitment and interest in the subject to make it through the book. That said, Friedman elucidates just what capitalism is and should be. He does believe in some government, however, he argues (and quite successfully) that it should be as limited and nonactivist as possible. I certainly recommend this for anyone interested in just why Milton Friedman (and other laissez-faire capitalists) thinks the way he does. Henry Hazlitt's, "Economics in One Lesson" is a less difficult read and is also better constructed. I would recommend that as prerequisite for tackling this book.

Friedman's critics and fellow travelers in the libertarian fold rightfully viewed Capitalism and Freedom as a landmark book in 1962. The author brilliantly, if albeit briefly, articulated his theories of human behavior, which stood in contrast to the prevailing Keynesian ideology. The book has stood the test of time, and has become a classic part of libertarian literature. Like Marx's Das Kapital, the book has become a common point of reference for review in many college courses for members of the Left and the Right.

Some quick notes. The book was not written as an exhaustive economics treatise that purported to evaluate every single possible component of economics. Friedman did not present every single ideological permutation's view of price supports for farm products, as an example. Anyone looking for Every Possible Libertarian Opinion on a Given Economic Question, much less the contrasting viewpoints of Marxists/Neo-Keynesians/Flat Earth Society proponents, will need to look elsewhere (Keynesian Paul Samuelson's classic work, "Economics", is recommended for as a starting point). Friedman's reputation in the economics profession was not earned from this book, but his other works, especially his "Monetary History of the United States".

As for Paul Krugman's criticisms of Milton Friedman, the potential reader should heed the old axiom, "consider the source". Krugman is a brilliant economist, who after being exposed for decades to a mass of information on the failings of government meddling in the economy, persistently recommends a watered down version of the same failed policies that didn't work in the past. Interestingly enough, he belongs to that peculiar breed of economist who stridently defends "free" trade between nations, but somehow believes that individual entrepreneurs in a national economy require "guidance" from Big Brother (regulate, baby, regulate).

Krugman, like many economists of all political preferences, carefully chooses data that conforms to his preconceived opinions (monetarism under Thatcher and the early Volker years in the US), while excluding any information that might challenge his assumptions. Krugman fails to mention that in 1979, with 21% interest rates and 13.5% CPI in the US, his fellow Keynesians were recommending as a "cure" an increase in inflationary spending, higher marginal tax rates, and increased spending by the government. Some cure. Which is exactly why so many people anxiously embraced the monetarist creed at the time. Equally bogus is his claim that Volker's altered policies in the mid-1980s were a reversion to Keynesian monetary doctrine. Krugman's analysis of supply-side economics, which Friedman never supported, contains many of the same "ignore the facts" approach.

Final note. Many of the same economists who criticize Friedman for his lack of intellectual rigor slam Robert Lucas, another University of Chicago Nobel Prize Winner, for being too rigorous and dependent on advanced mathematical models that don't reflect the "real world".

No other book anywhere is more important for the student of economics. Compared to other books on economics, it is very concise and well written. You will gain more insight per minute of time expended than from almost any other text.

The book is timeless because the principles Professor Friedman explains are bedrock foundations of the Capitalist economic system. In almost all universities you are taught a system of thought that inevitably leads to an emphasis and reliance upon Government and the State, basically, socialism as a solution to our economic problems. Professor Friedman clearly spells out better solutions in which markets can solve our problems more efficiently than Government and Socialism. More important, Friedman shows that only Capitalism is consistent with the concepts of Liberty that motivated the Founding Fathers of the United States, principles that led to the drafting of the Constitution. The book Captialism and Freedom has stood the test of time, and still represents the single best source to obtain an understanding of economic markets and how they work, without jargon or mathematics. Instead, Friedman goes directly to the essence of market economics, and liberty, in a simple and straightforward manner. This book will show you how you can use the economic system to make yourself an independent person, capable of taking advantage of the liberty that free markets promote.

This book will help you understand why the institutions of Government, such as the public schools, the Post Office, and the Federal Reserve Board, inevitably become inefficient and problematic compared to private enterprise solutions. At present, Professor Friedman heads up a foundation which promotes free enterprise within the public school system, referred to as School Choice and Vouchers. The intellectual foundations for this suggested improvement in our public schools were laid in Captialism and Freedom. Finally, Professor Friedman spells out the intellectual foundation for the results of his study of the history of monetary policy and the inevitable problems of the Federal Reserve Board. The problems of the Federal Reserve that were discussed in Professor Friedman's Monetary History of the United States are problems that are inherent in government enterprise, issues that are discussed in Capitalism and Freedom.

This book is a must read for any serious student of Politics or Economics. Also, because the book is written in a simple and straightforward manner, any lay person without training in economics will gain fundamental insight into the structure of the Capitalist system and the inevitable problems of Socialism.

Five decades on, Friedmans thoughts of the functioning of the economic and political life, are still mind-blowing. Written in a clear and powerful language, the points are well made after logical discussions of some important issues facing all societies.

The main theme in the book is the close link between democracy and capitalism, or political freedom and economic freedom. Without the latter the former is very difficult. The Hollywood blacklist threatened the freedom of many film workers. However, the movie companies desires to make money gave them incentives to hire the blacklisted writers, producers and actors, and the workers got to work because of capitalism. Conversely, Winston Churchill never got to speak against Hitler on the government owned BBC between 1933 and the outbreak of WWII.

Throughout the book, Friedmans belief in the individual and his abilities to take care of himself stands as a lighthouse. However, because man is imperfect, and cares mostly of himself and the closest ones, often disregarding others, power should be dispersed as much as possible. Those two propositions are the bedrock of the conservative ideology (Friedman calls it liberal, furious that the left has stolen the term), and of this book and its attacks on ICC (a regulating body turning into a lobby organization), Social Security (why is the government monopolizing saving), counter-cyclical economic policy (impossible), corporate social responsibility (not a corporate issue), the Medical Association (modern guild restricting the education of doctors) and a range of other organizations and institutions.

In general, I think Friedman is giving to little weight on neighborhood effects, or public goods as it is called now. Nor is the fact that most human beings are irrational shortsighted, and therefore better off forced to save for later, touched upon. At last, information problems make several markets, among them education, far from perfect. Still, its one of my best reads of the year.

This is a foundation text that should be widely read and studied. Whether you agree with Friedman or not is not the point. These are ideas you need to actually consider and wrestle with. If you end up disagreeing with him and can state why, you will be the stronger for it. It is not enough to rail against them emotionally or call them lies. They are not lies; they are ideas and arguments that ask for debate. Personally, I have always been a fan of Friedman and am ever grateful that he stood against the tide of the postwar political movements with these powerful arguments for freedom.

People often caricature Friedman to their own discredit. His arguments here are not simply that government is bad, but that using government is often a poor way to get at a desirable social end. He certainly does not need me to speak for him, but if you think he is for huge corporations and letting the poor without help to fend for themselves, you misunderstand him and should read this work carefully. Big corporations, he argues several places in this book, are the result of taxation schemes that encourage the retention and reinvestment of earnings that would otherwise have gone to the shareholders to reinvest as they see fit - in other enterprises, consumption, or charity (as well as in taxes). This is only one example among many of popular prejudices against Friedman that do him real injustice.

The book is only a couple of hundred pages, is not hard to read, but does pay off the most dividends if you take your time reading it and consider what he has to say rather than jumping to conclusions without wrestling with your own thoughts (whether you agree with the author or not). It was written in 1962, so some of the context of the book will require some understanding on the part of the reader. It was a very different time than today. However, the arguments remain solid and strong to the benefit of anyone who will spend time thinking about why they agree or disagree with this Nobel Laureate.

Oh, and he uses the word LIBERAL for his philosophy and explains the word in it classic sense rather than in the modern US re-definition of the word.

"Capitalism and Freedom" is not quite as easy a read as another one of Friedman's fine books, "Free to Choose," but, it is still accessible to non economic majors. Friedman sets forth some of his classic views in this book such as the negative income tax and free trade. One of his most interesting discussions is his questioning of the role of state universities and colleges. He likens the low tuitions at these public institutions to scholarships and wonders why those who go to public, as opposed to private universities deserve such scholarships. He raises, in 1963, a topic that is timely now... school vouchers. Most controversially, Friedman believes that almost all professional licensing should be done away with. In other words, he believes the free market can protect the consumer and that even licensing of physicians may not be necessary. In fact, such licensing may stifle innovation. Whether o9r not you agree with Friedman, this book raises fascinating questions and provides well thought out answers.

In the tradition of Hayek, Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom attempts to show the dangers of centralized power. Although it is rather short, much like the Road to Serfdom, and lacks the comprehensiveness of a Free to Choose (also by Milton and Rose Friedman) it still comes across rather forcefully. His attention to principle's, something lacking in our 'pragmatic' politics of today, and his ability to come to logical conclusions is remarkable.

I gave the book five stars because I welcome such analysis and believe the book to have achieved what it set out to do (at varying points in the book Friedman would point out that this book is not meant to be 'thorough' in the sense of a complete exposition and refers the reader to alternate books for further discussion). A must read for all politicians and government types alike (whether in Canada or abroad).

milton friedman is probably the most influential economist since superstar john maynard keynes turned the field of economics on its head. friedman is an uncompromising critic of keynes, and a fervent advocate of the free market (however with certain important exceptions). this book shows the reader why most social goods should be supplied by the workings of the free market rather than by the planning of government bureucrats.

friedman is however much more of a conservative in his views of the role of goverment compared to the radical school of austrian economics - especially in their contradicting views of monetary policy. of special importance is the socalled austrian theory of the business cycle which you should know to understand why friedmans monetarism is only a step in the right direction away from the destructive inflationist policies of the keynesians.

however this is a good place to learn some basic economic insights. if you liked this book you should check out thomas sowells 'basic economics' which is somewhat semi-austrian and very easy to read.

Nobel laureate Milton Friedman is quite possibly the most brilliant economist in the world today and a man on the cutting edge of libertarian (classical liberal) thought. And in "Capitalism and Freedom" he lays out a basic political philosophy in the classical liberal tradition in the first two chapters of the book and alternately defends and expands upon that premise for the remainder of the work. In much the same way that F. A. Hayek - an ideological predecessor - spelled out his basic thesis in one concise book and then fleshed it out in another, Friedman provides the basics here and fleshes them out in the larger (and somewhat better written) "Free to Choose". In addition, while not wishing to rehash some of the detailed support for his assertions, he does - through footnotes - provide the reader with opportunity to delve deeper.

Given the nature of the subject matter and the expertise of the author, the writing can be dry and may appear difficult to approach, particularly in the initial chapters, but the reader who sticks with it will be well rewarded. Subsequent chapters, largely adapted from lectures by the author, are easier reads. And Friedman avoids, for the most part, the economic jargon that can make works such as this hopelessly confusing to the layman.

Friedman is often tagged with the "monetarist" or "supply-side" labels (if you don't believe me, read some of the other reviews), largely because he believes that these methods of economic manipulation are infinitely preferable to the fiscal manipulation that has been the norm in this country. Those who actually READ this book will find that he advocates intervention by neither means, preferring instead stable monetary growth removed from the hands of either fiscal or monetary interventionists.

He provides one of the most succinct explanations of the monetary actions (of the Fed) that created and worsened the Great Depression that I have ever come across, though mentioning only briefly the fiscal policies that subsequently lengthened it considerably: the New Deal and, to a much lesser extent, Smoot-Hawley. This alone makes the work valuable.

He goes on to examine a number of things that are now taken for granted in this country (the Welfare State, Social Security, public education, licensing requirements) and asks the question, "Have these government actions made things better or worse?" The record is less than stellar (especially in the subsequent 40 years since this was written). And he proposes some alternatives such as the negative income tax and other alternative roles for government that are, arguably, less intrusive on the liberty of the citizenry.

And he uses examples that are easy to follow and understand including one about men stranded on desert isles that is NOT as presented in another review.

As an economist, I would say that this work has aged remarkably well. The analysis has clearly not become dated as have those of Galbraith and, to a certain extent Keynes. [Keynes WAS a genius, providing the mathematical and econometric bases for much of current economic thought, but, contrary to the assertion by another reviewer, much of what he proposed should be done by the state has been discredited.] Friedman, for example, was one of the first to advocate a school voucher system, which is only now receiving serious attention.

It is noteworthy that a number of economists from the left have criticized Friedman in general and this work in particular. But those attacks (by Krugman, Herman and Diesing, among others) have proven to be, for the most part, without merit.

If you accept the basic premise that freedom is vitally important and that the actions of the state should be viewed from that point of view, you will find this work to be invaluable. If not, you will certainly not be pleased. And if you believe the utter nonsense that capitalism is in any way "oppressive", well, if you can't see reality...