Milton Friedman is one of the most decorated economists of the 20th century. This, his most famous book, first published in 1962, illustrates the framework of Mr. Friedman's economic philosophy, including but not limited to: how economic freedom propagates political freedom, how the intervention of government often leads to the restriction of economic freedom, and how deficit spending in the name of supporting a turn-down in the economy fails to bring about the results promised by Keynesian Economics. For those who are already familiar with economics 101, Mr. Friedman and his work won't offer many surprises. But for those of us who aren't familiar with classic liberalism, it will be an eye-opening experience only marginally diminished by the separation of decades between its publication and our consumption in the present day.
One may disagree with the Friedman model; One may find his advocacy for limited government unnecessarily harsh. The truth is, no one book will ever hold all the answers because no one man or woman has all the answers. There is no unified, accurate theory of economics because there's no pure economic data to draw a theory from. One instance exemplifying how one theory is true can be seemingly countered by another theory which proves the opposite to be true. Therefore, treat Capitalism and Freedom, an anti Keynesian text, as a springboard to other texts written by Keynesian admirers. Only by trial and error will one discover the truths that best explain ones own theories of the world.
For me, Mr. Friedman is near the mark, but something, some essential element of social fairness is missing. A deregulated world is a world where the powerful can take advantage of the weak in the same way they are able to do so in a society without the rule of law. And economics does not have the equivalent of the rule of law to impose morality upon its players. (3/5 Stars)
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