[Opinion] Milton Freedom

Economist Milton Friedman wrote, “10 years ago, when this book was published, there were a lot of people who believed that socialism is the promising system that will bring materialistic prosperity and freedom, and that capitalism would not” as a preface to his book, ‘Free to Choose’ in 1990. The USSR’s economy was a great threat to western capitalism even in 1970s. There were rumors that strict central regulation and planned economies featured growth and equality.

Socialism reached its peak in 1970s due to the irony of not providing “freedom to choose” to individuals. However, this became most clear at the end of the 1980s. Eastern Europe and the USSR failed, and China, accepting capitalism, became a global factory. When individuals do not receive compensation for success, the government cannot expect to grow.

In the U.K. and U.S., the ‘Friedman Economy’ received great attention starting in 1980. The ‘small government, big market’ policy that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan embraced can be said to have been Friedman’s.

Friedman’s economy can be summarized as based on individual choice and responsibility. The idea that every human being has the freedom to choose and no government can suppress this right is the core of his philosophy. A strong faith in market economy was derived from this idea too. This is the reason he emphasized market economy principles at the request of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Human rights activists demonstrated in 1976 when Friedman received the Nobel Prize in economics, arguing that he aided a tyrant. Despite this, Chile’s economy is currently the best out of all South American countries thanks to Pinochet’s market economy reforms.

The U.S. public broadcasting company PBS aired “Free to Choose” in 1980 as a 10-part documentary. Friedman chose that period as the most exciting time of his life. Perhaps it was because he shouted out his theory of freedom-based economics alone for 40 years before finally being praised by the world.

He may have left the world on Thursday, but his economy policy lives on.

Editorial Writer Kim Sun-deok, yuri@donga.com