Free to Choose
 | |
| Author | Milton Friedman Rose Friedman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Publisher | Harcourt |
Publication date | 1980 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 338 (1990 Reprint) |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0-15-633460-0 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Free to Choose is both a book (ISBN 978-0-15-633460-0) and a ten-part television series.
Overview
Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by economists Milton and Rose D. Friedman provides examples of how the free market works, and shows how it can solve problems where other approaches have failed. Published in January 1980, the 297 page book contains 10 chapters dealing with issues such as:
- The misuse of Federal Reserve powers during the Great Depression,
- The decline of personal freedoms, and
- Government spending and economic controls.
Friedman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1976. Contrary to normal practice the book was written after the TV series was produced, although the line "Basis for the acclaimed public television triumph" is written on the front cover, using the program transcripts as reference. The book was on the United States best sellers list for 5 weeks.
PBS telecast the series, beginning in January 1980; the general format was that of Dr. Friedman visiting and narrating a number of success and failure stories in history, which Dr. Friedman attributes to capitalism or the lack thereof (e.g. Hong Kong is commended for its free markets, while India is excoriated for relying on centralized planning especially for its protection of its traditional textile industry). Following the primary show, Dr. Friedman would engage in discussion with a number of selected persons, such as Donald Rumsfeld (then of G.D. Searle & Company).
The series was rebroadcast in 1990 with Linda Chavez moderating the episodes. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronald Reagan, Steve Allen and others give personal introductions for each episode in the series. This time, after the documentary part, Friedman sits down with a single opponent to debate the issues raised in the episode.
Positions advocated
The Friedmans advocate laissez faire economic policies, often criticizing interventionist government policies and their cost in personal freedoms and economic efficiency in the United States and abroad. Areas of focus include government taxation on gas and tobacco, government regulation of the public school systems, and the Federal Reserve's role in exacerbating the Great Depression by reducing the money supply in the years leading up to it. On the subject of welfare, the Friedmans argue that current welfare practices are creating "wards of the state", as opposed to "self-reliant individuals", and suggest a negative income tax as a less harmful alternative. Other ideas covered are: decriminalization of drugs, tighter control of Fed money supply, and the repeal of laws favoring unions.
Video Chapters 1980 Version
- The Power of the Market (Abstract) (Video)
- The Tyranny of Control (Abstract) (Video)
- Anatomy of Crisis (Abstract) (Video)
- From Cradle to Grave (Abstract) (Video)
- Created Equal (Abstract) (Video)
- What's Wrong with Our Schools? (Abstract) (Video)
- Who Protects the Consumer? (Abstract) (Video)
- Who Protects the Worker? (Abstract) (Video)
- How to Cure Inflation (Abstract) (Video)
- How to Stay Free (Abstract) (Video)
Citations
- The Wealth of Nations: Representative Selection by Adam Smith,
- Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman,
- The Declaration of Independence by Sam Fink,
- Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville,
- Principles of Political Economy: and Chapters on Socialism by John Stuart Mill,
- Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader,
- Declaration of Independence by U.S Government,
- The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions by Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
- Income from Independent Professional Practice by Milton Friedman,
- The Pursuit of Equality in American History by J.R. Pole,
- Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Milton Friedman,
- Education and the State by E.G. West,
- Tyranny of the Status Quo by Milton Friedman,
- The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes,
- Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money by Milton Friedman,
- John Lewis Biography by Melvin Dubofsky,
- Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell,
- The United States Bill of Rights by U.S Government,
- Government by Judiciary by Raoul Berger,
- Culture and the City: Cultural Philanthropy in Chicago from the 1880's to 1917 by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz
- I, Pencil by Leonard Read