Friday, February 13, 2009

Milton Friedman on Capitalism: Donahue gets more than he bargained for

This is great. Friedman makes some excellent points. Donahue's loaded questions are posed as if there is some actual alternative polity under consideration that directly encourages virtue and is based on high-minded ideals. Friedman exposes Donahue's assumptions by going on the attack rather than playing defense. And he never misses a beat. Even the audience, likely inclined to favor Donahue, cannot help laughing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent. And I do have to give Donohue some credit--he doesn't barge in and interrupt--even when Friedman asks a rhetorical question and leaves a space. He just lets him say his piece. I don't see that at all these days.

Lydia McGrew said...

That's interesting. I didn't know that, because I don't have TV channels. It's sometimes funny to see all the ways in which times have changed that I don't even know about.

The Social Pathologist said...

Humph,

Give Ordoliberalism a try. Capitalism with a human, not Darwinian face.

Lydia McGrew said...

I'm sure that would be very popular with the Donahues of the world. No "greed" there. Just the rewards of sheer, self-sacrificing virtue.

/sarc