Capitalism and Freedom
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- Create Date：2021-05-08 08:54:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Milton Friedman
- ISBN：0226264211
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Summary
Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the "hundred most influential books since the war"
How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom？ In this classic book， Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom。 The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English， has been translated into eighteen languages， and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on。
How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom？ In this classic book， Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom。 The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English， has been translated into eighteen languages， and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on。
Reviews
Nick
，
I find myself coming back to this book for the theoretical and practical insights。 Particularly on minutiae like the misunderstood shareholder responsibility doctrine， which means fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and legal/contractual duties to others。 This is actually against paternalistic corporatism and reasserts individual ownership and responsibility away from an unelected managerial class。 Friedman is also in favor of treating corporate income as shareholder income by changing tax I find myself coming back to this book for the theoretical and practical insights。 Particularly on minutiae like the misunderstood shareholder responsibility doctrine， which means fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and legal/contractual duties to others。 This is actually against paternalistic corporatism and reasserts individual ownership and responsibility away from an unelected managerial class。 Friedman is also in favor of treating corporate income as shareholder income by changing tax treatment， in effect removing limited liability。 。。。more
Alexia Isais
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i read the first few pages and had the inescapable urge to pull all of my hair out strand by strand。 if friedman were a live today， I would truly cook him intro a fried man。
D。 Parker Samelson
，
One of the best books I have ever read。 I wish every American would read this。 Total logical dismantling of the supposed good intentions behind the push further into socialism in America。
Thomas
，
I get the feeling that this is one of those seminal works that was so successful in its time that its key insights are ubiquitous today。 As a result， a contemporary reader such as myself might be forgiven for struggling to decide on how to rate it。 If you read the Economist or are familiar with Austrian economics， it probably isn't worth the read。 If you are not， you will probably get something from it。 If you are an aspiring socialist， you should definitely read it （but you probably won't becau I get the feeling that this is one of those seminal works that was so successful in its time that its key insights are ubiquitous today。 As a result， a contemporary reader such as myself might be forgiven for struggling to decide on how to rate it。 If you read the Economist or are familiar with Austrian economics， it probably isn't worth the read。 If you are not， you will probably get something from it。 If you are an aspiring socialist， you should definitely read it （but you probably won't because diversity is only valuable when applied to gender and skin color， right？）。 。。。more
Sangam Agarwal
，
read it to learn why capitalism is better than socialism and communism
Daniel Kane
，
One of the best books on economics ever written。 Friedman makes powerful （and sometimes even outrageous） arguments about the important link between free-market trade and free-acting individuals。 While reading the entire thing is encouraged， someone with not as much time on their hands， or little training in economics could probably get by with reading just the first two chapters， in which he lays out the broad principles of his thinking。 Every chapter after that is him applying those principles One of the best books on economics ever written。 Friedman makes powerful （and sometimes even outrageous） arguments about the important link between free-market trade and free-acting individuals。 While reading the entire thing is encouraged， someone with not as much time on their hands， or little training in economics could probably get by with reading just the first two chapters， in which he lays out the broad principles of his thinking。 Every chapter after that is him applying those principles to specific situations。 。。。more
Matthew Mechtly
，
While some of the nearly 60-year old arguments did not age particularly well， most of them did。 It's obvious that Friedman is a tremendous thinker and his contributions to monetary policy are tremendous。 I would encourage those trying to better understand economics to take a look at his arguments and evaluate what you think has stood the test of time。 While some of the nearly 60-year old arguments did not age particularly well， most of them did。 It's obvious that Friedman is a tremendous thinker and his contributions to monetary policy are tremendous。 I would encourage those trying to better understand economics to take a look at his arguments and evaluate what you think has stood the test of time。 。。。more
Jan Notzon
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I believe this was adapted from some speeches that Friedman gave to various groups。 While I thought the information critical， Friedman is not as reader-friendly for us non-financial types as Thomas Sowell。Still， his reasoning is clear and cogent as one could ask for and clearly much， much easier for this particular non-financial type to follow than Joseph Schumpeter。For those interested in the critical connection between individual liberty and a free market， I do recommend it。
Daniel Cotoara
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Freedom， a word that can be described with many different other words， from money to health， 。。。。。 In the book Milton tries to speak about it in many different ways， how we can find it or how can other help finding， including here our political peoples。 Even the book have some years now， the ideas can be used today also， actually many of them are better today than were in 1900s。It was a pleasure to read it
Kendall Reeves
，
Read as part of my new years resolution to read theory and original sources by folks I don't align with。 I still am ideologically opposed to Milton and his legacy of neoliberalism but i can see why， after reading this and knowing about the context of history in which he was espousing this， certain people were taken by it。 It was radical at the time and full of untested hypotheses that appealed to a certain rugged american ethos （one I do not possess tho）。 It was hard not to get irritated reading Read as part of my new years resolution to read theory and original sources by folks I don't align with。 I still am ideologically opposed to Milton and his legacy of neoliberalism but i can see why， after reading this and knowing about the context of history in which he was espousing this， certain people were taken by it。 It was radical at the time and full of untested hypotheses that appealed to a certain rugged american ethos （one I do not possess tho）。 It was hard not to get irritated reading this especially his opinions on discrimination， but I do feel like there were some ideas I could at least work with。 Like when he criticizes public housing policy for being condescending and paternalistic。 He does have a point。 I don't agree with exactly where he carried the argument but I do support a cash payment style aid for certain things （although he may have been using that proposal as a straw man。）Anyway。 Still not on board with neoliberalism。 But now I feel more informed as to why。 。。。more
Joshua White
，
Having studied Friedman’s theories at University， and in large part disagreed with his messages I thought it would be important to read this book to fully understand his beliefs first hand， with an attempted open mind。Firstly as the book is concise and not aimed purely at those with economic backgrounds the book does not extensively explain the logic behind its theories， however， this does make the book a fairly easy read compared to books of other economists。 Additionally， the reader can easily Having studied Friedman’s theories at University， and in large part disagreed with his messages I thought it would be important to read this book to fully understand his beliefs first hand， with an attempted open mind。Firstly as the book is concise and not aimed purely at those with economic backgrounds the book does not extensively explain the logic behind its theories， however， this does make the book a fairly easy read compared to books of other economists。 Additionally， the reader can easily access Friedman’s in-depth analysis of each area if so desired。I found Friedman’s approach to each area to deregulate and open it up to the free markets to be predictable， and simplistic， however， was interested and somewhat surprised by his laissez-faire views on monopoly power。Whilst continuing to disagree with the vast majority of Friedman’s approaches and views， the book did help me to understand the attempted rationale behind the policies of market favouring political regimes， and the large impact Friedman had on the world of today。 。。。more
Luisa Maruşca
，
This book was all about praising capitalism。 The author made it sound like the reason we aren’t living in an utopian world is that the market isn’t 100% free。 Sure， I agree with all the advantages the regim of the free market brings us and the correlation between capitalism and freedom。 I also think the reasons of the free speach， positive discrimination etc。 are purely echonomic （as it advantages the rich more than the working class）But why didn’t the author talk about the disadvantages of capi This book was all about praising capitalism。 The author made it sound like the reason we aren’t living in an utopian world is that the market isn’t 100% free。 Sure， I agree with all the advantages the regim of the free market brings us and the correlation between capitalism and freedom。 I also think the reasons of the free speach， positive discrimination etc。 are purely echonomic （as it advantages the rich more than the working class）But why didn’t the author talk about the disadvantages of capitalism？ Maybe they weren’t as prevalent at the time the book was written but were they inexistent？ 。。。more
Y Robitaille
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Alright。 For a book on liberalism and economic philosophy， I'd definitely put Ludwig von Mises's "Liberalism" ahead of this。 He's bit too concerned with issues of monopoly。 Very good insight however: to deem that workers are exploited implies that they are entitled to all that they produce （and not just a portion of it）， which contradicts the "from each according to his ability， to each according to his needs" ethos （among many other problems with communism）。 Alright。 For a book on liberalism and economic philosophy， I'd definitely put Ludwig von Mises's "Liberalism" ahead of this。 He's bit too concerned with issues of monopoly。 Very good insight however: to deem that workers are exploited implies that they are entitled to all that they produce （and not just a portion of it）， which contradicts the "from each according to his ability， to each according to his needs" ethos （among many other problems with communism）。 。。。more
Aditya Aman
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Good book， worth reading for the ideas presented， not that I agree with all of them。 However， Friedman presents a compelling argument for Capitalism and liberalism， even in our society's most regulated areas。 The language is lucid and easy to understand。 This book should be read alongside the in vogue MMT books， just to appreciate the contrasting ideas in tackling poverty， inequality and freedom。 Good book， worth reading for the ideas presented， not that I agree with all of them。 However， Friedman presents a compelling argument for Capitalism and liberalism， even in our society's most regulated areas。 The language is lucid and easy to understand。 This book should be read alongside the in vogue MMT books， just to appreciate the contrasting ideas in tackling poverty， inequality and freedom。 。。。more
Matt M
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Two things were clear after reading: Friedman was incredibly privileged （I picture Friedman writing on a balcony of a mansion that faces the bay with a handful of maids） and a COMPLETELY neo-liberal world would be terrifying。 His neo-liberal dogma is capitalism to the extreme but however absurd and farfetched this read is it does push you to critique and think of policy in a different way。 Maybe that's why this book has been around for so long。 Two things were clear after reading: Friedman was incredibly privileged （I picture Friedman writing on a balcony of a mansion that faces the bay with a handful of maids） and a COMPLETELY neo-liberal world would be terrifying。 His neo-liberal dogma is capitalism to the extreme but however absurd and farfetched this read is it does push you to critique and think of policy in a different way。 Maybe that's why this book has been around for so long。 。。。more
Teodor
，
In this book， Milton Friedman analyses a vast array of concerns for the society from the perspective of free market and liberalism。 His insights （although some of them controversial and maybe not that well supported by the facts as he claims） are quite enlightening。
Bryce
，
As of writing this， I have not yet completed the book。 However， I find numerous flaws in Friedman's strawman arguments against alternative economic models。The most absurd part of this work so far， in my view， is his fixation on capitalism being "inherently" democratic。 Friedman does not seem to care neither that （1） economic inequality inherently begets unequal "votes，" as he calls it， in the marketplace， nor that （2） capitalist businesses are inherently anti-democratic in their centralization o As of writing this， I have not yet completed the book。 However， I find numerous flaws in Friedman's strawman arguments against alternative economic models。The most absurd part of this work so far， in my view， is his fixation on capitalism being "inherently" democratic。 Friedman does not seem to care neither that （1） economic inequality inherently begets unequal "votes，" as he calls it， in the marketplace， nor that （2） capitalist businesses are inherently anti-democratic in their centralization of decision-making into a handful of executives。If Friedman really cared about democracy， he would be advocating for workplace democracy， labor unions， and worker cooperatives。 He doesn't here， and he didn't in the real world--in fact， he advised some of the most brutal authoritarian leaders in the world， such as Pinochet in Chile。He further establishes a false dichotomy between centrally planned Marxist-Leninist politico-economics and libertarian capitalist politico-economics， with little room for alternative schools of thought。Immediately in the opening of the book， Friedman appears to have no idea of what most democratic socialists believe; it appears he has no conception of market socialism （such as worker-cooperative economic systems） or decentralized planning models。Friedman makes constant arguments for decentralization of power but fails to find the centralization of capital a threat to real freedom; he is clearly not concerned with enabling individuals to maximize their potential or with positive liberty。I do not have high hopes for the remainder of the book， but I will see how it goes。 。。。more
Steven Mastroyin
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A lot of non-fic books it's really hard to rate trying to think independently of whether one agrees with the material。I'm not sure I really agree that a complete libertarian ideal （I know Friedman hates this designation but in 2020 parlance it's the appropriate one）， or that markets properly cost everything as he implies。 I do know that the work here is pretty convincing and it's easy to see why a lot of people subscribe to his ideas。 In fact I thought it was striking how little technical discus A lot of non-fic books it's really hard to rate trying to think independently of whether one agrees with the material。I'm not sure I really agree that a complete libertarian ideal （I know Friedman hates this designation but in 2020 parlance it's the appropriate one）， or that markets properly cost everything as he implies。 I do know that the work here is pretty convincing and it's easy to see why a lot of people subscribe to his ideas。 In fact I thought it was striking how little technical discussion there is and how much this is politicization of economic theory as much as anything - concepts are presented in broad strokes and seem relatively vague to me。 I suppose this is what makes the argument compelling。 In a similar sense， this is what I find from communist and socialist economic texts。 Ideas not substance。 Or ideas as substance。 Another way that you end up with ironic similarities between Friedman and communists is in the very basic frame of an appeal to the benevolence of those in power。 In authoritarian government， this is obvious， but in Friedman's ideal world， he relies on the benevolence of the ultra-wealthy to check society's ills。 Which is odd because for a guy who keeps talking over and over about the failure of the USSR as definitive to proving communism wrong， he completely ignores 19th century economics where the gilded age philanthropists may have done a lot of good， but also exploited the living hell out of the lower classes and did a lot to consolidate and entrench their power rather than work for society's benefit。 In either case， whether we are talking about a Stalin or a Mellon， the reality of the failures of people shows that these kinds of systems where power is consolidated in the few all have similar shortcomings。Anyway， this is a book everyone should read， I think。 Even if you disagree with everything it says。Also， Friedman should have left off the anniversary edition prefaces where he comes off like a disgruntled jerk。 I almost stopped this right at the beginning when he was going on and on about how oppressed and disregarded he was when the work came out。 Get over yourself。 。。。more
Ella
，
fuck friedman
Sofia
，
I read this for Philosophy。
Jerry
，
Good stuff。
Lucas Cazanatto
，
Destrutivo， desconectado com a realidade， construído em cima de achismos e da falta de análise histórica， social e política。 Robinsonadas seguidas de robinsonadas para justificar robinsonadas。 No final nada funciona na prática como Friedman diz funcionar， e em parágrafos nem ele mesmo consegue justificar suas ideias com fatos concretos。 Afinal， ele tem a liberdade dele de falar sobre o que ele não sabe！ Isto é ser livre？ Se a liberdade de Friedman é a verdadeira liberdade， então a liberdade é a Destrutivo， desconectado com a realidade， construído em cima de achismos e da falta de análise histórica， social e política。 Robinsonadas seguidas de robinsonadas para justificar robinsonadas。 No final nada funciona na prática como Friedman diz funcionar， e em parágrafos nem ele mesmo consegue justificar suas ideias com fatos concretos。 Afinal， ele tem a liberdade dele de falar sobre o que ele não sabe！ Isto é ser livre？ Se a liberdade de Friedman é a verdadeira liberdade， então a liberdade é a liberdade de morrer de fome， a liberdade de morar debaixo de uma ponte， a liberdade de não ter liberdade de escolher nada。 A liberdade é só isso: uma palavra que significa a minha potência de ter para você não ser。 。。。more
Philipp
，
Iconic book to understand the principles of market libertarian thoughtMerged review:Iconic book to understand the principles of market libertarian thought
Heidi
，
Extremely well-written， but I give it 3 stars because it was too far over my head。 It never held my interest， I don't understand economics， and this was not something that helped me really learn。 I did learn that I'm not necessarily a fan of capitalism。 Also， it was first published in 1962， so the information， data， etc。， is a bit out of date。 I'm just glad to be done with it。 Extremely well-written， but I give it 3 stars because it was too far over my head。 It never held my interest， I don't understand economics， and this was not something that helped me really learn。 I did learn that I'm not necessarily a fan of capitalism。 Also， it was first published in 1962， so the information， data， etc。， is a bit out of date。 I'm just glad to be done with it。 。。。more
Duru
，
uncle milty fangirling over capitalism for 202 pages
Russell Choy
，
I’m sure， somewhere here， that there is a good book to be found。 But， Friedman writes like a Renaissance man - and not in a good way。 I know he’s capable of good communication; I’ve seen it in some of his talks and his book， Bright Promises， Dismal Performance。 But I fear that these might be the exceptions， after reading his ‘53 paper on falsificationism and this。 Maybe it’s his earlier works that are harder to read - who knows。 In terms of the content， I think that the same content more clearly I’m sure， somewhere here， that there is a good book to be found。 But， Friedman writes like a Renaissance man - and not in a good way。 I know he’s capable of good communication; I’ve seen it in some of his talks and his book， Bright Promises， Dismal Performance。 But I fear that these might be the exceptions， after reading his ‘53 paper on falsificationism and this。 Maybe it’s his earlier works that are harder to read - who knows。 In terms of the content， I think that the same content more clearly communicated can be found in his other works， examples above。 I think it’s also clear that Friedman’s ideas have aged quite a fair bit。 I don’t really agree with his whole free market as a way to uphold the principle of freedom thing and I think that those who’ve read some of the more recent literature surrounding rationality and economic behaviour may side with me on this。 。。。more
Nadia Hina
，
Ooops。。。。。
Einar Eidstø
，
Friedman's concise and logical way of explaining fundamentally complicated concepts always surprises me。 It is a shame that this isn't required reading for every politician （and， indeed， every voter） though I doubt Milton himself would've liked the compulsion 😜。The only way to make the book better would have been to include more concrete examples， but I understand that the brevity of the book necessitated fewer examples。 Friedman's concise and logical way of explaining fundamentally complicated concepts always surprises me。 It is a shame that this isn't required reading for every politician （and， indeed， every voter） though I doubt Milton himself would've liked the compulsion 😜。The only way to make the book better would have been to include more concrete examples， but I understand that the brevity of the book necessitated fewer examples。 。。。more
Daniel Frederickson
，
A bit dated， but the principles apply to all modern generations。 Many of his predictions about failing economic policies （welfare， social security） came true with the exception that the United States has not wholly benefitted from applying good faith， free trade principles with nasty， tyrannical regimes who hate American freedom （China， Iran， Russia）。
Richard
，
It's a good book even if you disagree with the arguments。 The people giving bad reviews haven't read it。 It's a good book even if you disagree with the arguments。 The people giving bad reviews haven't read it。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Capitalism and Freedom
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Capitalism and Freedom&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft