I never thought I would be into economics. To me, history class had always been about wars, revolutions, and great leaders. But one day, my teacher started talking about ideas– how they are born, how they influence leaders, and how they change the history of the world. That is how I met Milton Friedman, and thanks to Jennifer Burns and her book Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, I have learned that economics is one of the most important disciplines that define our world.
The subject of Burns’ biography is not only a great economist; it is the story of a person who challenged the establishment, changed the way that governments work and whose policies are still felt to this day. Friedman was not just a thinker, but a changer, a man who had a strong belief in free markets and individual liberty. Eaton’s account of him was interesting to me because the economy is not just about numbers; it is about people, decisions, and how society works.
From Humble Beginnings to Intellectual Greatness: Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman’s story begins in Rahway, New Jersey in 1912, the child of Jewish immigrants Friedman. His family didn’t have much, but he had a pack of ambition to learn. He first thought he was going to be an actuarial scientist at Rutgers University, but after meeting some influential professors, he was interested in economics. He moved to the University of Chicago where he met his wife and intellectual partner in crime, Rose Director, and later to Columbia University to fine tune his research skills.
Friedman’s early life as depicted in the book reminded me of how sometimes it is the little things that determine who we are. He was not born into the nobility or had any influence, but he would write checks that would eventually reach around the world.
Challenging the Dominant Economic Theories
During the mid-20th century, the world was following the Keynesian economics, which said that government intervention is necessary to keep the economies stable. He didn’t agree. He thought that if the economy is left to its own device then it does better and that government intervention only leads to more problems.
His most famous book *A Monetary History of the United States,* 1867-1960 written with Anna Schwartz claimed that the Great Depression was not a failure of capitalism but a failure of the Federal Reserve to control the money supply. This was a revolutionary concept at the time and was only adopted as true and implemented in changing how central banks control the economies of their countries.
The Chicago School and the Revolution of Economics
When Friedman joined the University of Chicago’s economics department, he helped create the Chicago school of economics that would promote free market economics, empirical studies, and limited government intervention. These include:
The support for school vouchers to enhance competition in education, Wage and price controls are opposed, The floating exchange rate instead of the fixed exchange rate of currencies, The idea of negative income tax that inspired the UBI and Military conscription and an all volunteer military.
Friedman wasn’t just some theory writer, his ideas were already informing policies. It made me think: How many people today stop and think about where the rules of the economy are coming from?
Influencing Politics: Nixon, Reagan and Thatcher
Friedman was not only an academic; he counseled some of the most important political leaders of his time, from presidents of the United States to international leaders.
Nixon’s Economic Moves: Friedman was not pleased when Nixon decided to abandon the gold standard and implement wage and price controls, which, in his view, were a betrayal of free market economics.
Reagan’s Economic Policies: Many of Friedman’s ideas were adopted by Reagan, including cutting taxes, reducing government intervention, and monitoring the rate of inflation through the manipulation of monetary policy.
Margaret Thatcher’s Free-Market Reforms: Friedman’s principles were applied by Thatcher to fight inflation and to privatize state industries and transformed the British economy.
It was interesting to me to see how one economist was able to get some of the most powerful leaders of the 20th century to adopt his ideas and how knowing them could help me understand what is going on in the world today.
The Controversies: Chile, Civil Rights and Libertarianism
All of Friedman’s actions were not accepted by the population. He has been criticized for visiting Chile in 1975 to advise dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet on free market changes.
Among the most controversial positions was his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Friedman had argued that discrimination of race was wrong, but according to him, the government’s enforcing private businesses to integrate was a violation of property rights.
Does Friedman’s Influence Still Apply?
As I read Burns’ biography of me, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Does Friedman’s impact still matter?’ It does. His theories on inflation became relevant again in the 2021-2022 inflation crisis, when governments had to deal with rising prices and economic instability.
But, however, some of his concepts are challenging to fit into the present economy. Some people have started to question the notion that the market always knows best due to the 2008 financial crisis and growing concerns about income inequality.
Final Thoughts: Some Lessons from Friedman
What I like about history class is that it allows me to connect things, to see how ideas travel across time, how one person’s thought can change the world. Jennifer Burns’ Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative made me see that economics is not only about money but also about power, freedom, and how societies function.
To anyone who says that economics is dull or difficult: I ask you to please look into the lives of people like Friedman. You may just discover what I did, that ideas are some of the most powerful things in the world.
