Skip to Content
Uncategorized

Milton Friedman Interviewed

I missed this interview in the San Francisco Chronicle last week. I am no fan of the 92-year-old Friedman, and consider his influence on the Anglo-Saxon economies entirely lamentable, but it is hard to deny that he is the…
June 10, 2005

I missed this interview in the San Francisco Chronicle last week. I am no fan of the 92-year-old Friedman, and consider his influence on the Anglo-Saxon economies entirely lamentable, but it is hard to deny that he is the most influential economist since Keynes. The market triumphalism of the Chicago school of economics was intellectually unrespectable in the 60s; today it is entirely ordinary, the private religion of most business people and the libertarian wing of the Republican Party. To those who admire him, he is more an economic thinker: he is the prophet of economic freedom.

Money quote: “Asked why, if Social Security is so terrible, it is the most popular government program in American history, Friedman replied, ‘Well, because why does a Ponzi game work? It’s easy to understand why it’s popular. So far, on the average, retirees have gotten more out of the system than they put into it.’”

Props to Marginal Revolution, one of my favorite blogs, for the link.

Technorati tags: economics, libertarianism, economic freedom

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build

“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”

ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it

The narrative around cheating students doesn’t tell the whole story. Meet the teachers who think generative AI could actually make learning better.

Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives

The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.

Learning to code isn’t enough

Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.