People ought to be free to buy from whomever they want, in a voluntary way. The problem is that their involvement in this way and others reduces the voluntary nature of the transaction. The problem we face today is that the government, in the US and elsewhere, has gotten so involved in the economy that we are living under the tyranny of controls.įor example, the government has gotten involved in international trade, claiming that it is of their interest to do so, using tariffs and the like. That is the underlying insight of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations.īeing free to choose in economic transactions is a major component of personal freedom. The exchange must be voluntary and such that both parties believe they benefit from the exchange in some way. That is the basis for personal and economic freedom. They stay involved.įourth, the larger problem is governmental involvement in the market is that it encroaches upon our individual freedom to make free transactions with whomever we like. There are all kinds of problems with the government becoming an active part of the market, not the least of which are that once the government gets involved, they rarely get out of the game, so to speak. Adam Smith has laid out a philosophy of the government’s involvement as an “umpire” instead of a “participant.” The difference lies in the umpire sets the rules for fair-play whereas the participant, or player, is actively involved in the game. Third, the market in the US was meant to be free with little governmental involvement.

They determine who gets how much of the product, or the distribution of income.

They provide incentive to adopt those methods of production that are least costly and thereby use available resources for the most highly valued purposes.

Second, the market is shown to be powerful because of the importance of pricing. When we compare free markets to government-controlled markets, we see that very thing. First, it helps us understand the relationship of personal freedom and economic freedom.

The market is a powerful thing that affects us all in so many ways.

Although Friedman covered this same topic in Capitalism and Freedom, Free to Choose is intended to provide a more concrete approach. Milton Friedman (1912–2006), economist and former presidential adviser, was the author of a number of books, including Capitalism and Freedom and Tyranny of the Status Quo, also written with his wife, Rose Friedman (1910–2009).įree to Choose is about the relationship between personal freedom and economic freedom. A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

Free to choose a personal statement