Milton Friedman - Capitalism and Freedom

About this Episode

Milton Friedman was the twentieth century’s most prominent advocate of free markets. He argues that the free market - what he labels "competitive capitalism" - is a necessary condition for political freedom. The free market gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. For him, government serves as a forum for determining the rules of the game and as an umpire to interpret and enforce those rules. Government is necessary to preserve freedom, yet concentrated political power in the hands of government also threatens freedom.