Video: John Stossel - In Defense of Capitaism
People acting in their own self-interest created modern prosperity, says Ayn Rand Institute's Yaron Brook.
Stats |
People acting in their own self-interest created modern prosperity, says Ayn Rand Institute's Yaron Brook.
By Brandon Smith
Alt-market.us
If you’re not familiar with a little organization called the “Council For Inclusive Capitalism,” don’t worry, most people have never heard of it. The group was formed at the height of the covid pandemic; as fear instilled by government officials and the media propagated the news feeds, the majority of the public was rather distracted. The CIC is essentially everything that conspiracy theorists have been warning about for years packaged into a single Orwellian entity, complete with dramatic piano music and a mask of humanitarian philanthropy.
: 10 minutes or less. : 11- 36 minutes. : Over 36 min. Fun:
Dr. Friedman speaks on the morality of capitalism. The question is irrelevant. Capitalism per se is not humane or inhumane; neither is socialism. If we compare the two in terms of results, it is clear that only capitalism fosters equality and works toward social justice. The one is based on the principle of voluntary cooperation and free exchange, the other on force of position and power. In a free economy, it is hard to do good; you either have to use your own hard-earned money to do it or work hard to persuade others to your course. But by the same token, it is difficult to do harm because by preventing a concentration of power, capitalism prevents people from committing sustained, serious harm. Is capitalism humane or inhumane? It is neither. But it tends to give free rein to the human values of human beings.
“I would like to say to Milton and Anna [co-author of A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960]: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.”
Milton Friedman is the Godfather of American conservative libertarianism. He was, at a time when it was deeply unfashionable in official circles, a fierce critic of Keynesian economics. He was a leader of the second generation of libertarian economists to come out of the University of Chicago. Among the people recruited or mentored by him at the university include Thomas Sowell, Gary Becker, Robert Fogel and Robert Lucas, Jr. Friedman often used the jargon and methodology of Keynesians while rejecting their basic premises, coming to very different conclusions than his Keynesian counterparts.
One of his groundbreaking theoretical innovations is the notion of a natural rate of unemployment. Friedman believed that when the unemployment rate was too low, inflation was the result. Using this and his unique interpretation of the Phillips Curve, Friedman predicted “stagflation” long before there was even a word for such things. Friedman likewise broke with Austrian orthodoxy in advocating for small, controlled expansions of the money supply as the proper monetary policy. This became known as “monetarism” – the theory leveraged by the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis.
As an advisor to both United States President Ronald Reagan and United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, it can be said that, in some ways, Milton Friedman was the forerunner of neoliberal economics on the international scale.
You can send a check or money order to: The KTAO Project P.O. Box 1086 Crestone, CO 81131 or donate online: |
Stats |