Sunday Economics Lecture! Milton Friedman Asks, "What Is America?"

The lens of history is crystal clear on these points. Top down governance produces the very Dystopian societies that most liberals claim to wish to avoid. Bad laws make socially advantageous acts illegal, and therefore create situations where engaging in criminal behavior is sometimes the morally righteous position for society at large. Solzhenitsyn was considered a criminal by the Soviet Union, for committing the crime of writing the unapproved truth about conditions in his home country and then distributing that truth. There is a reason why mobsters and mobster movies hold a certain mystique of celebrity for many Americans. While in reality, these people are little more than petty thugs who rob, kill, lie, cheat, and intimidate their way through daily life, there is also some realization of them performing socially advantageous services that our government has made illegal. Dr. Friedman's point is that as long as all sides of a transaction remain voluntary, everyone will ultimately benefit, and that it is people remaining free to make their own decisions which will lead to the type of societies that gives the greatest living standards to the majority of citizens.

The follow up Q and A has a return to the usual Socialists and their attempts to trip up Dr. Friedman. Especially fun was our hero actually getting one young Communist to admit that the problems with Mexico's economy stemmed from a lack of Capitalists in Mexico. Another fun moment was when he basically bitch slapped some poor dolt who attempted to scold him over his refusal to get behind the 70's version of the Lilly Ledbetter Act.

Cross Posted from Musings of a Mad Conservative.