As economic freedom is increasingly taken by the state and federal government, my mind drifts back to college and graduate school. One book was easy to read and priceless: “Free to Choose” by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman. Since few have time for it, here are gems.
Friedman was not just a deep, policy-changing economist. He had the gift of succinct communication and was able to make complex ideas simple. That is why I liked him.
Gems that still apply more than ever include these from his 1980 epic, “Free to Choose.”
For starters, “the combination of economic and political power in the same hands is a sure recipe for tyranny.” In many blue states, what do we have? Governments that spend without limit, tax without limit, regulate without limit, subsidize without limit, and crave power.
“A society that puts equality—in the sense of equality of outcome—ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom.” Why? “The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests.” Are we not seeing that?
“On the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will, as a happy by-product, end up with both greater freedom and greater equality.” The opportunity to succeed expands.
“Though a by-product of freedom, greater equality is not an accident. A free society releases the energies and abilities of people to pursue their own objectives. It prevents some people from arbitrarily suppressing others.”
“It does not prevent some people from achieving positions of privilege, but so long as freedom is maintained, it prevents those positions of privilege from becoming institutionalized; they are subject to continued attack by other able, ambitious people.”
“Freedom means diversity but also mobility. It preserves the opportunity for today’s disadvantaged to become tomorrow’s privileged and, in the process, enables almost everyone, from top to bottom, to enjoy a fuller and richer life.”
To many of us who have started a business, aspire to, or benefited from someone who has, this all makes perfect sense. It is common sense. It is also a warning not to let government get so big it oppresses in the name of equality – or in Marxist language, freedom.
Extending common sense, Friedman wrote: “Believers in aristocracy and socialism share a faith in centralized rule, in rule by command rather than by voluntary cooperation.” In every instance, expanding centralized control reduces individual liberty. That is true whether you label the act socialism, communism, fascism, or Democratic anything-ism.
He then explained how this happens… “A real or fancied evil leads to demands to do something about it. A political coalition forms, consisting of sincere, high-minded reformers and equally sincere interested parties. The incompatible objectives of the members of the coalition (e.g., low prices to consumers and high prices to producers) are glossed over by fine rhetoric about ‘the public interest,’ ‘fair competition,’ and the like.”
Soon, “The coalition succeeds in getting Congress (or a state legislature) to pass a law. The preamble to the law pays lip service to the rhetoric, and the body of the law grants power to government officials to ‘do something.’ The high-minded reformers experience a glow of triumph and turn their attention to new causes.”
Meanwhile, “the interested parties go to work to make sure that the power is used for their benefit. They generally succeed. Success breeds its problems, which are met by broadening the scope of intervention.”
Soon, “bureaucracy takes its toll so that even the initial special interests no longer benefit. In the end, the effects are precisely the opposite of the objectives of the reformers and generally do not even achieve the objectives of the special interests. Yet the activity is so firmly established, and so many vested interests are connected with it that repeal of the initial legislation is nearly inconceivable.”
Guess what happens next? “Instead, new government legislation is called for to cope with the problems produced by the earlier legislation, and a new cycle begins.” Does this not sound like exactly what ails our society – our state, and often the federal government?
Common sense, as they say, is increasingly uncommon. Thankfully, in his epic book – worth a read – Milton Friedman hits the nail on the head, and even now it reads well. Our job is to apply the common sense that people like Friedman once taught, not forget it.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
