Milton Friedman vs. Naomi Klein

This is an excellent editing job splicing into a Klein speech several "responses" by Milton from old interviews.  As much as I enjoy the way in which this makes Klein look like the simpleton she is, the real joy is seeing Friedman at his most powerful and articulate and radical, especially in the segment with Phil Donahue.

HT:  Justin Ross.

Comments

[Speedmaster]

IMHO, Naomi Klein is well into the category of 'dangerously ignorant.' ;-)

I'm a couple chapters into the wonderful Free To Choose now and reminded of how brilliant Dr. Friedman was. An amazing clear thinker.

[Joe Heater]

Thanks!! I'm passing on a link to this post to a number of friends. The best 7 minutes I've spent in a number of days.

[Greg Ransom]

Ever notice how many leftists are shockingly ignorant and how many leftists are pathetically dishonest? And how many are both?

It's a remarkable and wide spread characteristic.

And it seems to be getting worse.

[D.A.]

Glad you all liked the video.

Devil's Advocate
Editorialist
Copious Dissent - Your Daily Dose of Liberty
http://copiousdissent.blogspot.com

[Jean]

Before you say Naomi is ignorant, read her book. There's over 600 pages of well researched information put together in a coherent manner, covering history with a social and geopolitical perspective greatly missing from a one dimensional economist like Friedman. While Friedman ideas are popular, it's only because they are an oversimplification of reality that appeals to ordinary people and simple minds. But who does it benefit most? Big corporations who would like people to believe the enemy is the government. However what people fail to see is this: Big business = Government. Leaning a bit more toward socialism would change that equation to Government = The people, and certainly big business don't want that... So what they do? Elevate Friedman to the status of a legend, a genius, so that the mass start to think, socialism = enemy of the people = government. Only in America do those simple stupid ideas prevail... you could say people in other countries are less bombarded by big business propaganda and a one dimensional political system.

[Gavriel Shaw]

No Jean.

Leaning more towards socialism we get the equation socialism + government = Mao, Stalin, Hitler.

You once again manage to ignore the position of laissez-faire, which means business without government, not big business with government.

But how would people be protected from fraud, force and coercion you might ask.

The answer is once again found in the very straight forward system of laissez-faire.

And it is what the US Republic was founded to achieve.

[Frank Staheli]

Klein's book "The Shock Doctrine" does not challenge Friedman's theory, which is that free markets require freedom of choice. Her whole thesis is that this is not how his theory has been carried out. Friedman shook hands with the butcher Augusto Pinochet, simply because Pinochet claimed to agree with Friedman's theories. In country after country the International Monetary Fund, claiming to adhere to Friedman's theories, has employed force to get countries to comply with its vision of the free market, and in nearly every case these markets have become less free because of the intervention of those who claimed to be advocates of Friedman's philosophy, whether they really were or not.

[Felipe]

Jean have you even read her book? its full of half-truths and manipulation of historical events. Specially hilarious is her interpretation of the Tienanmen square massacre by the "capitalists" in the chinese COMMUNIST party.

If anything is Klein's ideas the ones that are oversimplifications aimed at simple minded and ignorant people with an absurd appeal to the power of the state to solve the problems of the people trough central planning relying on the old class struggle mentality and the fear of the people to individual liberty and the free markets.

I recommend you to read "Free to Choose" by dr Friedman and maybe you will open you mind to human freedom.