Capitalism and Freedom

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I found this book to be excellent. The strongest part of this book is the connection between the liberty to choose what one wants to purchase and the consequent political freedom that entails. I also enjoyed the concept that economic power spread throughout all classes (ie, wealth) is a form of political power and therefore a protection against the power and tyranny of government. There are some areas I did not quite understand (eg, the sections on banking), but I did largely agree with the arguments of all sections I did understand. (I'm not an economist.) An excellent read for understanding America and any other capitalist country and the interplay between liberties and capitalism.

Rating:
Summary: A good starting place for conservative economic theory.
Review: "Capitalism and Freedom", the 2002 version, contains a brief preface for the 2002 edition, as well as the preface to the 1982 edition. On the subject of whether he would revise anything to his original work, Friedman said, with one exception, that he wouldn't. There's good reason for that.

The book is written for a generalist audience (like me), and pulls back from the nuts and bolts of economic theory in order to provide a broad scope that makes sense in plain English. With broad subject matter such as "The Control of Money", "Fiscal Policy", and "The Role of Government in Education", all of which average around 20 pages each in a 200 page book, the reader will not be in danger of getting bogged down in esoteric details.

Some of the subject matter that Friedman speaks of in the present tense is only relevant in historical terms (such as the segment on the gold standard for monetary policy). Other chapters speak directly to current issues (such as his chapter on the virtues of school vouchers, or the chapter on social welfare measures).

Because the book was written in the pre-Civil Rights Act era and makes no apologies for the least amount of government restraint on economic relationships, the book provides an insightful glimpse of what free-market conservatives believed before the political paradigm shift. Friedman takes the proper care to say he does not favor racial discrimination, but he also makes it clear that government intervention into such economic relationships doesn't necessarily make things better.

Friedman contributes a lot on the subject of monopolies, whether they be technical monopolies, private monopolies, or government monopolies, and which of them would be the least damaging under the circumstances. In the same vein as Adam Smith's talk of the danger of private collusion, the danger of a private monopoly holding together is much less probable than a government monopoly or a technical monopoly.

All in all, for someone looking for a primer on conservative economics, this relatively inexpensive book is a safe bet.

Rating:
Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: This is a new edition of Milton Friedman's classic 1962 capitalist manifesto. As such, it was ignored, spurned and hated for decades by the intellectual, post-Keynesian establishment. In the 60s, Friedman once found himself debating a liberal who attacked him by simply reciting Friedman's views of the proper role of government. This was working rather well with the audience of college students until he quoted Friedman's opposition to the military draft. Friedman suddenly found himself awash in the unexpected cheers of students. Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of his career. Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976, and his ideas gained some degree of mainstream acceptance in the Reagan years - although many of his thoughts remain controversial. To the extent that Friedman debunks myths about the Great Depression that are widely accepted as fact, perhaps he has a point about the semi-privatization of education. We from getAbstract strongly recommend this volume to those who seek a deeper understanding of government's role in a free-market economy.

Rating:
Summary: Vintage Friedman
Review: In the tradition of Hayek, Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom attempts to make plain the concern we should have with centralized power. Although it is rather compact, 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, and his ability to come to logical conclusions is remarkable. This approach can have drawbacks (for instance, ignoring the consequences of policy for philosophical consistency), but it is important to bring out our assumptions, and correct mistakes.

To give an example from a conversation I had with Friedman, what difference is there between being able to "ingest" the books that you'd like, and being allowed to ingest mind-altering drugs? (There is a difference, of course, but *essentially* we are dealing with things that can alter the content of your mind).

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).

Rating:
Summary: everybody has their price
Review: Capitalism is the most barbaric of all religions. Department stores are our new cathedrals. Our cars are martyrs to the cause. And you too will learn to live the lie.

Rating:
Summary: The Libertarian Manifesto!
Review: There is no question that Milton Friedman is a brilliant man and an excellent writer. This book is the best writing on ultra-conservative thought I have seen. Anyone who is trying to develop a solid worldview should read this book closely. I enjoyed this book much more than "Free to Choose", which is more popular, as this book is more illuminating on the conservative philosophy as opposed to particular policies.

Another reviewer suggested that this book would give any left-leaning person a dramatic shift in their political ideology. If such a thing happens, then I would suggest that person has to work on the depth of their knowledgebase. However, reading this book is a good first step.

Rating:
Summary: Tepid defense of free markets
Review: Being more a follower of the Austrian school of economics, I
thought this was a weak theroetical defense of economic freedom.
There was just not enough principled description of the line
separating free individual action for government interference
in such action. In politics, more than in any other field of
human action, solid, clear, objective principles must be laid
out, because politicians are very good at coming up with
excuses for interfering with our lives. Yet, Friedman repeatedly
states that in certain circunstances, we must decide on the
basis of cost/benefit analysis how far we should go to protect
rights. Government beurocrats are very willing to find benefits
in expanding their own power and curtailing freedom.

Friedman's rejection of gold as money, or any commodity standard,
is pretty weak as well. Did I miss somehting, or is his only
objection to gold the fact that we need to spend a lot of efort
to dig it out of the ground and rebury it in vaults his only
objection? If it is, considering the monetary stability that we
could get from gold, it would be a very equitable tradeoff.
Consider what a poor job is being done now by a Federal Reserve
chairman who clearly understands the dangers of paper money.
(Read Greenspan's "Gold and Economic Freedom" ...)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, brief articulation of Friedman's beliefs
Review: 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".

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction based on economics, not philosophy
Review: I found Capitalism and Freedom to be a spectacularly well-written introduction to the economics behind the free market, and why such a system is bound to work better than any other sort.

My only complaint, which is a matter of personal preference, is that I hoped for a more philosophical treatment of the issues behind laissez-faire capitalism. Instead, Friedman deals with only the economic issues, but this is forgivable -- after all, he is an economist by training (or else the Nobel committee has made a horrible mistake).

So if you're looking for a more philosophically inclined look at the issues, this probably isn't what you want. But if you are leaning towards the economics side, then Capitalism and Freedom is the authorititative source for you.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing but truth to justify freedom.
Review: Paraphrasing Massengale, this is nothing but the truth by a man who understands deeply economic inequility and favors the liberation from oppresion that is pure capitalism.