When I read the book, I had known Friedman’s theories from various classes and his eloquence from discussions, lectures and Q&As I had seen on YouTube. Needless to say, I was excited for the read. While I would love to go into depth on all of Friedman’s arguments, I’ve decided to focus on the ones that struck me the most or that have stayed with me the most: the relationship between economic and political freedom, capitalism and discrimination and the role of the state in education.
His chapter on the relationship between economic and political freedom was and still is, to me, the greatest contribution of this book. The argument that real political freedom is impossible without a great amount of economic freedom is one more people should hear and think about. While I also think the argument is true the other way around, I think that relationship is less absolute – various countries nowadays provide a reasonable amount of economic freedom with no or almost no political freedom.
Another argument that seems a bit lost today is that capitalism is the most successful system in countering discrimination as irrational discrimination is expensive (not hiring the most qualified person due to their race, sex, or any other such reason means you don’t get the best person available for the job). In a time where companies need to virtue signal at every end and even resort to positive discrimination, pondering Friedman’s writing would help us all a lot.
Friedman’s thoughts on the price of education also should be revisited now that millennials are asking for free university degrees. In Switzerland, college education is almost free, and I’ve of course enjoyed that benefit while at the same time being convinced that this system leads to more people than “necessary” getting non-marketable degrees.
All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone even if many people might disagree with some of Friedman’s points.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5