Milton Friedman - Greed

In his book "Capitalism and Freedom" (1962) Milton Friedman (1912-2006) advocated minimizing the role of government in a free market as a means of creating political and social freedom.

An excerpt from an interview with Phil Donahue in 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• economics
• philosophy
• politics
• government
• capitalism
• socialism
• communism
• freedom
• donahue

[FletchforFreedom]

@HealthyPlanet To the contrary, a fully private legal system yields the results you seek. In fact, private law in the form of mediation and arbitration already accomplish some of what you suggest. A private legal system only survives to the extent that it meets the needs of its consumers - providing protection without placing those consumers at risk of either undue persecution or punishment. The result would be fewer and more understandable laws (not to mention less cost).

[JackofOneTrade567]

@illuminate1970 No, capitalism is the end. Your problem is that you think competition is somehow bad when in reality the fruits of competition have made more people happy. Automobiles, refrigerated food, heated homes, etc.

[FletchforFreedom]

@HealthyPlanet I'm not sure I agree that reducing imprisonment is a goal, per se. A healthy society shouldn't imprison people for acts that harm no one else (i.e., drug laws), but the goal should be less crime. As said before, I agree that in the current climate with a government-private hybrid, the incentive for politicians to act in their own interests and seek money/favor by tailoring laws is the problem that requires redress.

[JackofOneTrade567]

@eggsandwine Actually, the world does run on people pursuing their separate interests, and being human, those interests usually involve other people. It's fallacious to assume society and govt are one in the same and one cannot exist without the other.

In capitalism, full capitalism, the big fish can only eat the small fish if he gives other fish what they want better than the small fish can. Govt doesn't reduce inequality, it reallocates, hides, and sometimes increases it.

[FletchforFreedom]

@schmoborama Actually, if you actually tries checking the dictionary, you would find that prosperity means having money or wealth so, as anyone can check, it IS the only thing to measure prosperity by. If you wish to embarrass yourself, that's not my fault.

Well, gee, since the current crisis was caused by the Federal Reserve and made worse by Fannie and Freddie, not the "rich" or "Republicans" (though the profligate spending didn;t help), your "point" collapses.

Do some research.

[FletchforFreedom]

@schmoborama "That's a pathetic excuse for stupidity."

I agree completely. It's why I've been suggesting you stop demonstrating it (and proving that you haven't the intellect to move beyond profanity) from the outset.

I know exactly what you said. It was irrational and wrong, which is why the point that the source of investment is NOT primarily from professional investors is particularly relevant.

Please try to keep up.

[schmoborama]

@allannus

"tour a food or drug company and asking them how they test their products"

and ask them how much they'd spend if they DIDN'T HAVE TO spend ANY. The very idea that they would spend at least as much on safety as they do now to meet the BARE MINIMUM legal requirements, if they didn't have to, is just fucking stupid.

[schmoborama]

@allannus

"maybe the socialist govt you want has prophetic powers so it can foresee fraud"

YOU are the idiot who thinks it won't happen in a free market, now you accuse ME of thinking the same stupid thing?? Douchebag.

"lost millions in fines"

He's a REPEAT OFFENDER. The loss of money from previous violations did SHIT to guarantee safe food. You think this "they lost money" shit is the holy grail. Guess what - if the business lost cost them $1m, but they made $2m on it, THEY WILL DO IT AGAIN.

[schmoborama]

@allannus

"the socialist govt you want"

Who the FUCK said I want that?? Just becuase I want to keep the social programs we have, and raise taxes back to when we had a BALANCED BUDGET, doesn't mean I'm fucking Karl Marx.

You retardicans are all the same, a bunch of greedy sheep, all making the same baaah noise; "if you don't believe in 0 taxes you're an unpatriotic communist - get out of MY country".

[eggsandwine]

Very often liberals misunderstand the concept of absolute freedom. As Albert Camus has said, only tyrants and dictators have absolute freedom. They have the absolute freedom to do anything they want without consequences.

Of course he speaks during a very polarized time, when the dilemma seemed to be between communism and capitalism. Nowadays there are many economic and social theories that link aspects of liberalism and free market with socialdemocratic politics.