Reintroducing Milton Friedman

I received a call from an old friend today and as with most of conversations they either turn to Christ (my favorite subject) or politics (my 2nd favorite). This one ended up in the latter, and at some point I brought up Milton Friedman. My friend is around 30 and it dawned on me that a lot of young conservatives may not be familiar with the brilliance of Friedman.

He was an economist who rose to national fame in the 60's and 70's. He was a supporter of the New Deal till he challenged his own theories, and his conclusions shocked him. That Government can't manage the economy, because people will know what they're doing and adjust their habits to neutralize the goal. That there will always be a rate of unemployment so it only harms the rest of the country to try and create jobs for the 5% or so who don't want them. He then created his own theory called Monetarism. His theory predicted in the 60's an effect that our government deficit spending would create in the 70's called stagflation. That's when the economy becomes stagnant but inflation rises. Other economists laughed at him, but his model was shockingly accurate. In 1976 he won the Nobel prize for his theory and work.

His true value to us is his ability to break down complex issues so we all can understand. Here he is on the Phil Donahue show in the 70's. This 2 minute clip was the inspiration for the great scene with Michael Douglas in Wall Street.


If you want to learn more from Friedman we're fortunate that he hosted his own show where he taught his principals on public television in the early 80's, and recorded lot's of lectures. There are hours and hours of Friedman material on youtube. I'll leave you this incredible 30 minute interview from the 60's. Great quotes include "I admire the softness of their hearts, but it very often extends to their head as well." & "The problem is they feel like the people need to have Big Brother look out for them, when in fact Big Brother is supposed to be the one being watched by the people".