Capitalism and Friedman

Milton Friedman has been tirelessly making the case for capitalism on public television, in a series called Free to Choose. Public TV may seem an unlikely place for a free-market advocate, but then where is he needed more? You can’t accuse Friedman of preaching to the converted; and as Dr. Johnson says somewhere, you can’t call a man dishonest for doing what is generally accepted in his own society. More to the point, perhaps, it would be disingenuous for collectivists to argue that only collectivists should use collectivized media.

Howbeit, it’s an excellent and stimulating show. Friedman is a tiny man, and his energy and enthusiasm and good cheer make him seem even smaller, giving you the arresting impression of being addressed by someone on the scale of Speedy Alka-Seltzer. No empyrean Galbraithian rank-pulling here. Friedman’s demeanor never seems to imply that he knows more than you (even if he knows a thousand times as much); rather it suggests, in its buoyant directness, that if he can follow this stuff, there’s no reason you can’t too.

JS

About the Author

Joseph Sobran

Milton Friedman has been tirelessly making the case for capitalism on public television, in a series called Free to Choose. Public TV may seem an unlikely place for a free-market advocate, but then where is he needed more? You can’t accuse Friedman of preaching to the converted; and as Dr. Johnson says somewhere, you can’t call a man dishonest for doing what is generally accepted in his own society. More to the point, perhaps, it would be disingenuous for collectivists to argue that only collectivists should use collectivized media.

Howbeit, it’s an excellent and stimulating show. Friedman is a tiny man, and his energy and enthusiasm and good cheer make him seem even smaller, giving you the arresting impression of being addressed by someone on the scale of Speedy Alka-Seltzer. No empyrean Galbraithian rank-pulling here. Friedman’s demeanor never seems to imply that he knows more than you (even if he knows a thousand times as much); rather it suggests, in its buoyant directness, that if he can follow this stuff, there’s no reason you can’t too.