Capitalism And Freedom By Milton Friedmans Pride And...

Brigid Ueland Contemporary Economic Thought ECON – 3000A Dr. Coronado September 14th, 2017 Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman: The Economist’s Pride and Prejudice The opening line of Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom reads as an opening line in a Jane Austen novel: â€Å"It is widely believed that politics and economics and separate and largely unconnected; that individual freedom is a political problem and material welfare an economic problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  sounds similar in structure and tone to â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife† . Even the titles reflect each other, though Friedman’s is lacking in alliteration. Just as in Pride and Prejudice, Friedman’s†¦show more content†¦In actuality, Friedman admits that the market system has many more complications, not the least of which was the introduction of money, but at its center still stands the two principles of a truly voluntary system: â€Å" (a) that enterprises are private, so that the ultimate contracting parties are individuals and (b) that individuals a re effectively free to enter or not to enter into any particular exchange, so that every transaction is strictly voluntary† . These factors are the building blocks of economic freedom, where each individual holds an equal vote in the way the market works. Now having established the basis of economic freedom, Friedman goes on to explain how these principles can help to form political freedom in a nation. The main tool of a capitalist market to impose political freedom in a society is competition. Friedman states that if a few wealthy people are convinced of an idea, enough competition will be introduced to the market to make a difference. In history, this has proved true. Friedman uses the historical examples to make his point, including the 1950s Hollywood writers blacklist. Writers who had been suspected Communists were blacklisted in Hollywood and not hired by production studios. In 1959, however, one such company hired a writer off the blacklist and while the produced his f ilm under a pseudonym, when the