Milton Friedman: An Economics of Love
Some of you have noticed that Greg is faithfully posting a Milton Friedman series of videos on economics and freedom.
One of the reasons why the StandFirm bloggers like Friedman is explained in this article at National Review, a portion of which I’ve excerpted below:
The libertarianism of Rand (and she hated the word “libertarian”) was based on an economics of resentment of the “moochers” and “loafers,” the sort of thing that leads one to call a book The Virtue of Selfishness. Friedman’s libertarianism was based on an economics of love: for real human beings leading real human lives with real human needs and real human challenges. He loved freedom not only because it allowed IBM to pursue maximum profit but because it allowed for human flourishing at all levels. Economic growth is important to everybody, but it is most important to the poor. While Friedman’s contributions to academic economics are well appreciated and his opposition to government shenanigans is celebrated, what is seldom remarked upon is that the constant and eternal theme of his popular work was helping the poor and the marginalized. Friedman cared about the minimum wage not only because it distorted labor markets but because of the effect it has on low-skill workers: permanent unemployment. He called the black unemployment rate a “disgrace and a scandal,” and the unemployment statute the “most anti-black law” on the books with good reason. He talked about two “machines”: “There has never been a more effective machine for the elimination of poverty than the free-enterprise system and a free market.” “We have constructed a governmental welfare scheme which has been a machine for producing poor people. . . . I’m not blaming the people. It’s our fault for constructing so perverse and so ill-shaped a monster.”
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2 comments
“He loved freedom not only because it allowed IBM to pursue maximum profit but because it allowed for human flourishing at all levels. Economic growth is important to everybody, but it is most important to the poor.”
While I agree with the latter of these two statements, I balk at the first. As I understand Friedman, he seems to understand human flourishing in a quantitative, utilitarian way, as satisfaction of desires. This tradition has difficulty distinguishing good desires—those that lead to human flourishing—from bad desires—those that do not. On this view, given the assumption that an individual knows better than anyone else what she wants, maximal freedom to pursue one’s subjective desires leads to maximal desire satisfaction and, hence, maximal flourishing.
That line of reasoning seems inconsistent to me with Scripture and the Christian tradition, with the Beatitudes and the Theological and Cardinal virtues, which identify a set of character traits that are not optional for human flourishing and which natural man will not choose given the freedom to choose.
[1] Posted by anglicanconvert on 8-20-2012 at 06:31 AM · [top]
RE: “As I understand Friedman, he seems to understand human flourishing in a quantitative, utilitarian way, as satisfaction of desires.”
I don’t think so. He doesn’t equate *freedom* with “making a lot of money.” He does equate it with the ability to pursue the best of the person’s level, if that makes sense. For instance, North Koreans are not free to become the best, and they are not even free to *become good* [that is, develop the character traits that you and I both agree are necessary].
I can’t speak for Friedman, but I’m fairly confident that he sees freedom as the opportunity to pursue the kind of human flourishing you are speaking of. But, again, a part of that human freedom is economic freedom.
The wonder, to me, of free enterprise is that human beings can go pursue excellence to the best of their ability, and better than any other system would allow.
[2] Posted by Sarah on 8-20-2012 at 07:32 AM · [top]
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