Name: Capitalism and freedom
ISBN: 9780226264219

Capitalism and freedom

Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the "hundred most influential books since the war"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 his 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. The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on.

What Hacker News says

yanderekkoNov 2022

Milton Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom". I was arguing with people online about politics and I was embarrassing myself through my lack of "Econ 101" understanding of issues. Someone in the thread recommended this book and I now I've leaned libertarian for the rest of my life, ended up getting a PhD in economics..

thread

marnettMay 2020

Hmmm. Great question. What was the most "mind bending" moment in cinema? The ending to The Sixth Sense or the trial and conviction of Harvey Weinstein? When I think of mind bending I think of the thoughts and ideas that break one out of a previous believed framework of thinking. Things that have a lasting impact on how they see and view the world.

"The Bible" (New International Version)

“Capitalism and Freedom” by Milton Friedman

“Imperial Ambitions” by Noam Chomsky

“Evolution and Religion: A Dialogue Book" by Michael Ruse

“The Value of Free Thought” an essay by Bertrand Russel

“The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism” by Daniel Bell

“Stalking the billion-footed beast” an essay by Tom Wolfe

“Propaganda” by Edward Bernays

“Bonfire of the Vanities” by Tom Wolfe

“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau

“30 Satires” by Lewis H. Lapham

“Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut

Above, in chronological order, are the books that changed my life. It is weird looking at that list, as each book is tied to such a fundamental shift in my life. They each taught me about something fundamentally new and different. Faith, spirituality, economics, thought, power, society, nature, technology. It should appear obvious by looking at the list, there are plenty of opposite pairs, dipole books if you will, present. Bending one’s mind has multiple phases, first when one goes from knowing nothing to knowing something. Depending on what was learned, this can definitely be mind bending. But not everyone rides the second phase, going from knowing something to learning that it wasn’t the whole thing, or wasn’t the only way to interpret such a thing, or wasn’t entirely correct, or perhaps, in our largely subjective world, is not true at all.

Certain books can only speak to certain people at certain times of their life. It’s just the beauty of the whole thing. And to the core of this thread, one actually has to believe something, truly and passionately, in order for them to then have their world view bent and turned on its head. This is the hardest lesson that many won’t really ever opt to face. The core of truth, learning, and wisdom comes when you finally read (and thus think) something that takes a belief you previously held as passionately true, unalterably true, core-to-identity true, and made you wrestle with the reality that it may, perhaps, not be. That’s the biggest mind f* of them all.

One’s entire worldview is constructed of things they believe. But those things you believe come, for some more than others, from what one read, purposefully or not. Seek books that challenge what you believe and enjoy the ride.

thread

tothrowawayMar 2020

Anyone looking for a challenging read should consider Milton Friedman's book "Capitalism and Freedom". It's short, but very dense. He covers topics like a negative income tax (which you've heard of) and ideas you've probably never considered (like school vouchers, elimination of occupational licensure, and elimination of tariffs).

The downside is, if you find his arguments convincing, it will leave you feeling even more angry about the current role of government in society.

thread

jumbopapaOct 2019

I enjoyed your point about credentialism. If anyone is looking for a good primer on the issue read the "Occupational Licensure" chapter of Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman.

thread

theptipMay 2019

Sibling comments have given examples here, but the one-sentence summary would be that libertarians are in general opposed to licensure, and believe that a free market with certification (which would be provided by trusted private entities) is superior.

In more detail, the argument goes something like "any time you require a license, you are necessarily reducing the choices available in the free market, and more choices are good." See e.g. Milton Friedman, "Capitalism and Freedom".

I think the purist libertarian position on the FDA would be that it should be abolished and replaced with a private certification agency. But if you _must_ fund it with government money, it should be a certification body and not a licensing body.

thread

nieksandJul 2018

If you're genuinely trying to understand, read Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom" as a starting point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism_and_Freedom#Chapter...

thread