Free To Choose: A Personal Statement (1980)

The Tyranny of Control

Volume 2 - The Tyranny of Control

Abstract:
In this program, Dr. Friedman visits India, Japan and the U.S. He argues that those nations fortunate enough to have had basic economic policies established in an atmosphere of free markets have tended to develop more rapidly and to meet the needs of their citizens more adequately than those nations whose economic policies were established in an atmosphere of centralized planning and control. According to 18th century Scottish economist Adam Smith, free market economies are based on a belief that permitting individuals to pursue their own self-interests will have the happy side effect of serving the interest of society as a whole. Friedman points to the development of the British economy during the 19th century and the Japanese economy in the 20th as examples of robust development that accompanied governmental decisions to allow the free market to operate. Where nations have adopted central planning policies instead of economic freedom, economic development has been considerably less than that in free market societies. Though central planning policies may be well intended, they inevitably retard economic progress. Dr. Friedman cites the case of India as a classic example of a nation that has great potential for economic development but, because it has chosen to rely upon centralized controls for organizing economic activities, its people have been relegated to an unnecessarily low standard of living. This program focuses on the case for free trade. If people are free to trade with whoever offers the most advantageous terms, resources will be used efficiently, and a higher standard of living will be realized. But free trade requires free and open competition. Many producers have advocated public policies to protect their businesses from competition in the name of "public interest." Dr. Friedman warns us to be suspicious of public interest advocates, concluding that through their policies the special interests win at the expense of the rest of society.

Milton Friedman: Free To Choose

Free To Choose® is the ground-breaking PBS television series featuring Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist. These programs, filmed on location around the world, have helped millions of people understand the close relationship between the ideas of human freedom and economic freedom. The interaction between those ideas has created in the U.S. the richest and freest society the world has ever known. Milton Friedman sees this success threatened by the tendency in the last few decades to assume that government intervention is the answer to all problems. In these programs, which first aired on January 11, 1980, Dr. Friedman focuses on basic principles. How do markets work? Why has socialism failed? Can government help economic development? The 1980 version consists of 10 one-hour programs.



Producer and links to original media: Free to Choose Media, http://www.freetochoosemedia.org/freetochoose/media_ftc1980....