WekiileaksAviciiNewAlbum

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Saturday, 3 August 2013

101 Years Later, Milton Friedman is Still Wrong

Posted on 20:32 by Unknown

Wednesday was the 101st anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birth, and it will be widely celebrated among the vast number of Americans who march in Tea Parties and wear tricorner hats in public. He will be hailed by the vast number of “libertarian populists” now burgeoning within the Republican ranks. But the new “libertarian populism” is increasingly at odds with the possibility of a shared future.

Libertarian populists love markets. One of their favorite proposals is privatization: If there is a problem, they look to markets to solve it. Milton Friedman wrote, “The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.” The statement fails to take into account that parties can only perceive potential benefits and, in the case of poor workers, may be unable to find the optimal market exchange. But there is a deeper problem.

The problem is that markets, being amoral, are necessarily immoral. Markets are essentially utilitarian, they maximize “happiness,” and each individual is free to choose what makes him or her happy. But what happens when one man’s pleasure harms another? As E.F. Schumacher writes, “Call a thing immoral or ugly, soul-destroying or a degradation to man, a peril to the peace of the world or to the well-being of future generations: as long as you have not shown it to be ‘uneconomic’ you have not really questioned its right to exist, grow, and prosper.” That is, as long as companies can make money drilling into Canada’s tar sands, who are we to question them?

Schumacher notes the core libertarian dilemma: “The market is the institutionalization of individualism and non-responsibility. Neither buyer nor seller is responsible for anything but himself.” But as a society, we want people to be free from slavish impulses and appetites and we want them to be responsible. We raise our children to love their country, to protect their environment, to aid their community. We tell them not to steal, never to hurt another human being, and to generally live in such a way that if everyone else also lived in that way, the world would be a better place. But, as G.A. Cohen notes, “the immediate motive to productive activity in a market society is (not always but) typically some mixture of greed and fear.” That is, upon taking on their first job, we tell our children, “Throw away all that stuff we taught you; now all that matters is profit and loss."

This creates one of the contradictions of capitalism: How long can a liberal democratic society (which relies upon cooperation, mutual interdependence, and shared sacrifice) exist alongside a purely capitalistic system (which relies purely upon self-interest)? How long can markets “crowd out” all instances of social virtue before we descend entirely into chaos?

The libertarian reliance on pure self-interest is nowhere more clear than in the ideas of Ludwig von Mises, who developed Praxeology, the idea that all human action can be explained by self-interest. Milton Friedman accepts this proposition, stating in Free to Choose, “The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm, capitalism is that kind of a system.” The problem is that greed and self-interest are not the exclusive, or even primary, human motivation. We know that soldiers jump on grenades to protect other soldiers. We know that John McCain chose to spend four years in the Hanoi Hilton rather than violate the Code of Conduct for Prisoners of War. We know that Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire rather than face the harassment of police.

Of course, we’ve all heard the inevitable response: They’re upholding some other value, they hope for gain in a future life, etc. The problem with this response is that eventually, once you keep pressing, libertarians provide a tautology: Self-interest is whatever motivates us to act. Well, then, we are clearly really bad at defining our own self-interest. Libertarians face a double bind: Either their definition of self-interest is wrong (because people act for things other than self) or it’s tautological (because every action is self-interested). Either way, they severely confine human motivation for action.

The only way to solve these problems is to understand the individual within his or her society and that society’s mores. But libertarians have to reject the most important forms of community because these organizations — familial, local, national, religious — are not voluntary organizations, but are considered coercive. In a day and age when the rich live a life separate from the rest of us and when our use of fossil fuels endangers the lives of poor people across the globe, such an individualistic mode of thinking is not only wrong, but dangerous.

It’s important to recognize that some libertarian populists also engage in a core hypocrisy: capitalism for the poor, socialism for the rich. They want to block-grant Medicaid and cut taxes for the wealthy. They want to cut food stamps but not necessarily farm subsidies. They’ll cut the minimum wage but extend the carried-interest deduction. And they say things like, “Keep the government’s hands off of my Medicare.”

While Friedman was at least consistent enough to despise all government programs, the Tea Party wants to protect a few: the ones they benefit from. They excitedly adopt his “starve the beast” approach to government spending, but also gobble up government resources. Libertarian populism is the old supply-side garbage, as John Kenneth Galbraith noted, “that the work habits of the American people are tied irrevocably to their income, though in a curiously perverse way. The poor do not work because they have too much income; the rich do not work because they do not have enough income. You expand and revitalize the economy by giving the poor less, the rich more.” The Tea Party is selfishness embodied: “Government should help me, but not you! I’m a maker, you are a taker!” Some of us still envision a society where compassion and cooperation are valued, rather than callous competition — alas, that seems as far away as ever.



Click here to view original article
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • "The Spectacular Now" Movie: The Best Teen Romance Film This Year
    There hasn’t been a respectable movie about young romance in years. This year's attempts at teen romance have b...
  • How Abuse Survivors Can Protect Themselves On Facebook
    Just as Twitter has been working to amend its privacy features in light of violent and threatening attacks on some prom...
  • How to Survive a D.C. Summer If You're Not Interested in Politics
    So you’re in D.C. for the summer. Chances are you’ve hit all the tourist sites in a day, learned to use the Smithso...
  • How Can Baseball Boost Viewership? Give Video Games a Shot
    It's 9 a.m. on a Sunday, and I'm still in my pajamas, toggling through a list of opponents to choose who wi...
  • Mitch McConnell Focuses Speech On Becoming Senate Majority Leader
    As his re-election campaign kicks off, the Republican Leader in the Senate tries to ignore his opponents and remind supporter...
  • Why Americans are Losing Wealth — And What to Do About It
    A series of factors have led to declining American wealth, but one thing is for sure: A growing number of Americans...
  • Watch These Hackers Invent the Future Of Assassination
    Your car may not be as safe as you believe it is. It is jarring to think that someone else can force your Toyota ...
  • Polandball: The World's Most Sophisticated Subreddit
    What is Polandball, exactly? No, it's not a Calvinball variant — it's a type of webcomic that has been stea...
  • A Year After the Aurora Shooting Massacre, Absolutely Nothing Has Changed
    Saturday's one year anniversary of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., came and went with and little ...
  • Watch This Kid Solve a Rubik's Cube in Less Time Than It Took to Read This Headline
    The Rubik's Cube. That pesky 3x3 cube that can make men and women out of teens or, if you're like me, a foo...

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (500)
    • ▼  August (414)
      • U.S. Sanctions On Iran Are So Bad, Women Have Run ...
      • National Zoo Tiger Cubs Are a Reminder Of How Much...
      • Why Are Chinese Workers At Apple Suppliers Foxconn...
      • What One Year At PolicyMic Has Taught Me About Growth
      • 10 Memes to Help You Celebrate Eid
      • How Many Terror Threats Does the U.S. Get Every Day?
      • Mic Check: This Photo Perfectly Sums Up Obama’s Re...
      • I'm An Openly Gay Gold Medalist and I Reject the S...
      • Not Even Promising 50 Years Of Secrecy Can Get Con...
      • Lady Gaga's 'Burqa' is Supposed to Empower Muslim ...
      • Why I'm Proud to Be a Part Of Know Your IX
      • Wait Until You Read How Republicans Just Wasted Ev...
      • Them's Fightin' Words: The Case For Bringing Back ...
      • 3 New Yorkers Who Are Asking Forgiveness — And Doi...
      • French Farmers Protest EU By Destroying 100,000 Eg...
      • Here's What Obama Had to Say on Jay Leno Last Night
      • Inside America's Second Guantanamo: Bagram Airfiel...
      • Obama Leno YouTube Video: The President Says He Ha...
      • Two Males Arrested in Rehtaeh Parsons Case
      • China is Forcing 250 Million Rural Dwellers to Rel...
      • Ebony Magazine Cover Shows We Can't Give Up On You...
      • Guess Which Continent is Home to 14 of the 15 Most...
      • Gay Couple Forced to Back Of the Bus Gets An Apolo...
      • Congress Might Actually Fix a Billion-Dollar Problem
      • One Direction Fans Are Fuming Over This Harry Styl...
      • Why Cory Booker is Going to Be New Jersey's Next S...
      • Women Without Children Aren't Selfish — They're Smart
      • This Ohio Town Will Discriminate Against Minority ...
      • Boycotting the 2014 Olympics is Pointless For Gay ...
      • Sydney Leathers Will Teach You How to Bag a Weiner
      • Will Mexico's New Energy Plan Make It the Next Kuw...
      • TSA "VIPR Teams" Will Soon Be Patting You Down Out...
      • If You've Communicated With Someone Outside Of the...
      • Florida's Execution Of Mentally-Ill Mass Murderer ...
      • Latin America's Most Successful Politician? It's P...
      • How a 7% Cut to a U.S. Agency's Budget Can Take Do...
      • FEC Official Don McGahn Admits IRS Scandal Might B...
      • Detroit's Bankruptcy Could Spread Nationwide if We...
      • Seth Meyers On "Late Night" Just More Of the Same
      • 8 Coming-of-Age Films Every Millennial Needs to Watch
      • How to Get Over Your Ex in the Facebook Era
      • You're Not a Grown-Up Until You Stop Texting Your Mom
      • How Abuse Survivors Can Protect Themselves On Face...
      • PolicyMic is Debating the "B" Word This Week – Whe...
      • Can Shinzo Abe Make Japan a Superpower Again?
      • For the Simple Crime of Smoking Marijuana, the Gov...
      • How to Get Over Your Ex in the Facebook Era
      • Open Mic With Eliot Spitzer, Candidate For New Yor...
      • Happy Anniversary, Myanmar
      • Republican Threat to Shut Down Government Over Oba...
      • Polyphonic Spree Review: 'Yes It's True' Is the Ha...
      • Immigration Reform 2013: Why Did the Media Ignore ...
      • Social Security Begins Making Payments To Some Sam...
      • Can Billionaires Like Jeff Bezos and John Henry Sa...
      • Obama: "We Are Not Going To Completely Eliminate T...
      • How Hollywood Helped Hitler — and How It's Helping...
      • Obama: "I Don't Think Mr. Snowden Was A Patriot"
      • You Won't Believe What Just Happened On Reddit
      • Obama: "Mixed Success" With Putin
      • Name Which Democrat Said This: "We’re Not Broke, T...
      • Obama Opposes Olympics Boycott
      • Obama Administration Launching NSA Transparency We...
      • Why Bad TV Succeeds But Good TV Fails
      • Republican Mayoral Candidate Doesn't Want To Expla...
      • Smoking Is Not a Right
      • 5 Reasons Conservatives Don't Believe Climate Chan...
      • In Open Letter, California Sen. Barbara Boxer Tell...
      • Wisconsin Official Fired After Saying Undocumented...
      • What a Free Market Approach to Education Would Loo...
      • Congressman Suggests "Arab Persons" Might Disguise...
      • Congress' Iran Policy: Short Sighted and Irrational
      • Insane Confrontation At Oklahoma Congressman's Tow...
      • The TSA Is Turning Us Into a Stop-And-Frisk Nation
      • Terry McAuliffe Dismisses Reporter's Question On T...
      • Dronestagram Brings Drone Strikes Abroad A Little ...
      • Is Jay-Z Right About the Middle Class?
      • TSA Patdowns Coming to a Concert Near You
      • How A Democrat Dodges A Question About Wall Street...
      • International Olympics Committee Asks Russia To Pr...
      • The Fast Food Strikes Are Really About Civil Rights
      • How Jackie Chan Became The Most Hated Celeb On The...
      • Yemen Terror Threats Actually Come On Tail Of Huge...
      • Watch Anthony Weiner Struggle To Take A Reporter W...
      • Kristin Davis is Out Of Comptrol As NYC Race Gets ...
      • Democratic Gun Politics In Arkansas Senate Race Ar...
      • 5 Ways to Save Money On Health Care Costs
      • Russian U.N. Ambassador Speaks Out On Anti-LGBT Laws
      • RNC Chairman is Insane to Threaten NBC and CNN Ove...
      • 4 Ways Your Boss Will Set You Up For Failure
      • 5 Netflix Features That We Desperately Need
      • Thought Republicans Were Done With the War On Wome...
      • McDonald's Big Mac Study is a Prime Example of Wha...
      • MLB Suspensions List: 13 Baseball Players Busted F...
      • The 113th Congress Takes "Dysfunctional" to a Whol...
      • Who Does Desiree Hartstock Pick? The Sad Reality O...
      • Sean Sasser, AIDS Activist Known From MTV's "The R...
      • Obama Campaign Mastermind Jim Messina Now Working ...
      • Can Stay-At-Home Governor Andrew Cuomo Go National?
      • Burka Avenger: Can This Superhero Save Pakistan?
      • Ken Cuccinelli Joked About Drinking With Ted Kenne...
    • ►  July (86)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile