Milton Friedman

Pure brilliance

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Milton
• Friedman
• libertarian
• free
• market

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@JoshMan522 I'm a small business owner. I'm not rich, but I earn more than my employees. I earn more because I created the functional system and worked 70hour weeks for 6years. My effort and risk now provides the opportunity of 40 jobs. Incentive and huge risk, has expanded the economy, and everyone is granted more opportunity.

How else does job creation happen?

Open your own business, you would learn that "the rich" do not prevent you from succeeding, the government does =)

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@MrJarth I don't see a problem with large companies. We need industrial sized organizations to produce the needs of society, energy, communication, research and technical manufacturing. I do have a problem with monopolies and crony capitalism.

I'm sympathetic to your perspective, but remember to look at human history on a continuum rather than in a moment. America went through the same stages that India and China are going through now. Developing nations are catching up very fast. =)

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@panayiotisdemopoulos "Greeks are now being devoured by corporatism"

America suffers from oligarchy as well. One of our founders said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Unfettered corporatism seems like a reasonable cause to discourage.

However,imo, the fiscal problems in Greece are related to Gov spending. Greece is not alone, most developed countries are facing similar deficits. Greece is just the first =(

[panayiotisdemopoulos]

@TheBalancedAmerican Let me rephrase, as I concede that part of what you are saying is true. The Greeks are now being devoured by corporatism.

[panayiotisdemopoulos]

@TheBalancedAmerican Justice for all?

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@panayiotisdemopoulos I'm not a purest like Friedman, I prefer hybridized systems. I think government should work to take care of those who can't take care of themselves; children, and the old. Gov should provide free education. But society must remain inside the framework of the free-market, based on voluntary exchange.

Capitalism is defiantly not perfect. If your interested, i have developed a series of reforms to make capitalism work better for people. =)

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@panayiotisdemopoulos "Greece is now being devoured by capitalism"

Greece isn't being devoured by capitalism. It's being devoured by public sector spending. Politicians made too many promises, and now they've run out of money. Countries don't collapsing from too much business. Gov is the root of almost every collapse

"...cannot be solely one of material progress"

Are you invoking a material qualifier when you write about the Vietnamese child-worker? =)

[cont]

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@panayiotisdemopoulos Thank you for your civil response.I will try to return the courtesy. =)

"we should have equal rights to "freedom"

To me, freedom is based on voluntarism. When gov coerces effort from one group and gives to another, special interests corrupt the process. It reducing accountability.

"Can there be peace without justice?"

Justice for whom? The small business owner who gets looted by taxation, or the recipient of the cash?

[cont]

[panayiotisdemopoulos]

@TheBalancedAmerican Things are things and we can be their slaves if they become a central premise. Not to take anything away from enjoying the plumbing my grandfather never had. But our perspective cannot be solely one of material progress. The Hegelian in you has to forgive the stoic in me. I just see an extremity in your views, in spite of your moderate expression and demeanour. I could be wrong. However long or short my lifespan proves to be.

[panayiotisdemopoulos]

@TheBalancedAmerican I shouldn't like to get into an argument, so do excuse my reply if it seems aggressive. We have to agree to disagree. The dictum you have concluded with is rather aphorismatic. We are not all the same, of course, but we should have equal rights to "freedom". I don't see how a Vietnamese child-worker can be as free as myself. Can there be peace without justice? History has a response. And Greece is now being devoured by capitalism, so I can't comment.

[TheBalancedAmerican]

@panayiotisdemopoulos All of that being said, modern capitalism isn't perfect, and will probably evolve. I agree that Gov has a roll to play in regulation and entitlement, but we must not fall into the folly of allowing Gov to consume everything in the name of "fairness", as it has in Greece and others. No one wins in that scenario. =/

Place equality before freedom and you will have neither; Place freedom before equality and to will have a great degree of both. - Freidman