Friday, November 17, 2006
The World's Average IQ
dropped a couple of points last night, with the passing of Milton Friedman. There's not really much to add. Anyone versed in Economics knows that Friedman was an absolute giant in the field. About the only figure who compares in any meaningful way would be Keynes, whose ideas Friedman's displaced. Permenant Income hypothesis for consumption? Friedman. Natural Rate of Unemployment? Yup, Friedman. Non-Parametirce ANOVA tests? Still Friedman. The velocity equation? The Chicago School? Hell, Monetarist economics? Friedman.
But aside from his academic achievements, Friedman was one of the century's great advocates for individual liberty. His Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose (written with his wife, Rose) as well as his television appearaces, articles, and public advocacy built an appreciation in thousands, or even millions of people, both for the power of individual arrangements in a market system to organize themselves free of coercion and the moral imperetive of allowing them to do so. He argued this cause with a clarity and excitement that were literally a joy to follow. While some of his causes, such as the legalization of drugs, remain unfulfilled, others like the end of the draft (there's a wonderful interchange between him and Gen. William Westmorland here.) or the negative income tax (via the Earned Income Tax Credit), or the free floating of the dollar are an everyday part of our lives and others, like school choice and vouchers, are quckly gaining increasing public acceptance. His stance and advocacy were all the more remarkable in that he argued them in a time when everyone knew that the age of individual liberty had passed.
In short, we've lost a 5'2" giant, a man who made life just a little more interesting and a little freer for all of us. He'll be missed by even those of us who knew him only through his writings and argument. My condolences go out to his wife and children. Perhaps this might be a good fugue to America's departed Fenwick.
dropped a couple of points last night, with the passing of Milton Friedman. There's not really much to add. Anyone versed in Economics knows that Friedman was an absolute giant in the field. About the only figure who compares in any meaningful way would be Keynes, whose ideas Friedman's displaced. Permenant Income hypothesis for consumption? Friedman. Natural Rate of Unemployment? Yup, Friedman. Non-Parametirce ANOVA tests? Still Friedman. The velocity equation? The Chicago School? Hell, Monetarist economics? Friedman.
But aside from his academic achievements, Friedman was one of the century's great advocates for individual liberty. His Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose (written with his wife, Rose) as well as his television appearaces, articles, and public advocacy built an appreciation in thousands, or even millions of people, both for the power of individual arrangements in a market system to organize themselves free of coercion and the moral imperetive of allowing them to do so. He argued this cause with a clarity and excitement that were literally a joy to follow. While some of his causes, such as the legalization of drugs, remain unfulfilled, others like the end of the draft (there's a wonderful interchange between him and Gen. William Westmorland here.) or the negative income tax (via the Earned Income Tax Credit), or the free floating of the dollar are an everyday part of our lives and others, like school choice and vouchers, are quckly gaining increasing public acceptance. His stance and advocacy were all the more remarkable in that he argued them in a time when everyone knew that the age of individual liberty had passed.
In short, we've lost a 5'2" giant, a man who made life just a little more interesting and a little freer for all of us. He'll be missed by even those of us who knew him only through his writings and argument. My condolences go out to his wife and children. Perhaps this might be a good fugue to America's departed Fenwick.
