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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Must See TV: Milton Friedman in Defense of Capitalism

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  September 13th, 2010 at 09:45 PM  | 

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For you radio guys, the audio of this is worth playing — no video needed to get the point.

Milton Friedman defends capitalism to Phil Donohue.

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COMMENTS

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  • d_lamar

    Milton Friedman has got to be the best economist and author, at least to the extent of the ability to convey his message.

    It’s too bad that Free to Choose is not required reading in high school and for anyone who is running for any office. It seems that all democrats, and most republicans are ashamed of the capitalist system.

    Thank you Eric for reminding me of this great put down of Phil Donahue. It’s too bad that Phil was not smart enough to understand how foolish he looked.

  • Doc Holliday

    a nation needs another one like you.

  • gremlin1974
  • NeoKong

    Listen to him talk about wealth and success like it was something stolen from the poor while he sits on the set of his T.V. show as if he isn’t wealthy.
    Liberals never change.
    His wealth is benevolent and harmless. He is free from guilt because he advocates for the poor people he will never meet and so his contribution has been made.
    He wants to save those wretched souls. Just not with his money.
    He wants other people to do it while he directs them from his mansion in Bel Air as he sits by the pool.
    He thinks he is helping the poor by tipping the busboy at an expensive restaurant or by giving his old clothes to his house staff.

    ” Esmerelda…this is silk. Can you say… silk ”

    Mother Teresa he ain’t.
    What a jerk.

  • throwback59

    A defense of capitalism can’t be said any any better.

  • minncon

    He was on Donahue twice… both were a hoot. If only they would teach Friedman in High School (of course, the teachers would need to learn him first!)

  • fpete13527

    A brilliant man and champion of the greatest system in the world…Free Market Capitalism.

    I was lucky enough to see him speak many years ago. I remember that he talked about many aspects of economics but there were three things that he said that I always remembered.

    The person interviewing him asked him to share some down to earth advice regarding personal finance and beyond. He said something like (paraphrasing)

    1. If you don’t have any money…don’t spend any.
    2. If you don’t have any money, EARN more, don’t borrow any.
    3. If you are a Government, follow the exact same two rules only multiply the importance by a thousand fold.

  • davesinsanantonio

    it violates their ethics of spending other people’s money to make themselves look good and feel good about themselves. How mean can he be to want to take that away from them.

  • davesinsanantonio

    than the rest of us, that the most benevolent thing they can do is tell other people how to spend their money. And, since they are already so benevolent, they do not have to give the poor any of their own. And, to suggest otherwise is to be an heretic of the first order.

  • davesinsanantonio

    Neither are William Raspberry or Walter Williams. Even Keyes is pretty good at explaining things clearly. The problem is too many people do not want to listen or read. And, way too many actually do not want to learn it. That’s why they vote Democrat–it’s easier than thinking!

  • jackhammer
  • Doc Holliday

    I will leave Adam Smith aside, along with Socrates. Friedman was a singular thinker, and he cared about more than just economics.

  • Doc Holliday

  • dwscho

    It’s crystal clear but the Left continues to argue against Capitalism. Go figure.

  • RedBeard

    Milton Friedman completely disassembled Donahue, but Donahue remained ignorant and learned nothing.

    But then, as any teacher will attest, some kids simply haven’t the ability to learn. It’s not their fault, but they should be directed into fields other than those that might influence public opinion. For example, ol’ Phil might have made a fine handler of those “STOP/SLOW” signs at road construction sites.

  • davesinsanantonio

    they are all about ordering the rest of us around. In fact, the fact that we don’t like taking orders is what they hate most about us. So, if they can destroy the system, they can then have a clear path to give all the orders their shriveled little hearts desire. They would rather be poor with power over others than rich without it.

  • edintexas

    John Stossel did a fine show on Free to Choose, in his Fox Business Channel program, including clips from the program Friedman did. Great television, even with commercials. Uncle Milt is gone, but not forgotten.

  • libertarianrepublican

    Love Milton. His birthday is probably getting tattooed on me at some point (someplace inconspicuous)

    That man’s ideas did more to expand freedom than anyone else in the 20th century. Think of youths in communist nations hiding contraband copies of Capitalisim and Freedom, while digesting it’s grand ideas.

    And the man was an atheist who also believed in strong families. he knew that nanny state government solved no problems while strong communities could offer much. Some of the more ardent culture warriors of today should note his approach. No matter your end desire, using the heavy hand of government to get there rarely yields the desired result and the loss of freedom that goes hand in hand with it leaves you with a net negative every time.

    I say this having lost loved ones to drug abuse. I have suffered deeply and personally from addiction. But I will continue to make the ethical argument the state has no place in the matters substance abuse. And the monster that prohibition has created (the cartels) is far worse than the original problem. 28,000 dead in four years in Mexico. And drug use continues to rise.

    Anyway I’ll step down from the pulpit. But this is a powerful issue to myself and many.

  • aesthete

    Hayek was also a great libertarian economist. I miss those guys.

    Also, good point vis a vis government and morality. As Friedman notes in the above video, politicians do not reward or seek out morality, so why should we entrust its guardianship to them?

  • aesthete

    Both Williams and Sowell are outstanding, but Friedman’s caliber, and Hayek’s for that matter, was one of a kind.

  • Achance

    back in the mid-90s. Very nice guy! It was a pretty impromptu thing. Our Republican Party organization and, specifically our muscle, the Capital City Republican Women, rented a room at The Baranof and hustled up some Alaska specialties like salmon, halibut, and king crab and just invited the NR people to our reception when their ship was in Juneau. Had a great turnout and all were very friendly and accepting toward people they didn’t know from Adam. Only downside was Gov. Knowles crashed the party because he and Wm. Buckley were fellow Yalies, at least that was his excuse, but Knowles was always good at getting in front of something happening that looked important whether he had anything to do with it or not.