In his 1951 essay “ Neo-liberalism and Its Prospects,” Friedman argued that Americans were at a “cross-current” of public opinion, “a period at which underlying opinion is confused, vague, and chaotic.” Following A.V. 1 Along with the earlier generation of free market economists Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman played an important role in shifting the pendulum of truth about freedom toward the self-regulating power of the market - a rationality of freedom that merged with perceptions of democracy. Propelled by the anti-communist movement in the postwar era, he pushed the conservative movement further right. While Knight and Viner sought to distance themselves from national politics, often criticizing colleagues who used academic credentials to support political issues, Friedman embraced his celebrity.Īs the “prophet of the free market,” Robert Skidelsky writes, Friedman advocated drastic reductions of taxes, regulation, and government involvement in the economy, playing a central role in the shift in mainstream political economy from liberal Keynesianism to free market neoliberalism. Educated at the University of Chicago under Frank Knight, Jacob Viner, and Henry Simons, Friedman pioneered a far-right perspective-not conservative or libertarian-but a unique “market outlook” that gained a wide audience in the United States between the 1950s and 1980s. This new edition includes prefaces written by Friedman for both the 19 reissues of the book, as well as a new foreword by Binyamin Appelbaum, lead economics writer for the New York Times editorial board.After the Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman was perhaps the most influential advocate of free market capitalism in the Cold War era. Enduring in its eminence and esteem, it has sold nearly a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and continues to inform economic thinking and policymaking around the world. How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of an immensely influential economic philosophy-one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom.įirst published in 1962, Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom is one of the most significant works of economic theory ever written. One of Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s 50 Best Books of the 20th Century One of National Review’s 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Century One of Times Literary Supplement’s 100 Most Influential Books Since the War One of TIME magazine’s All-TIME 100 Best Nonfiction Books

Friedman m 1962 capitalism and freedom