Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative

"The next two books are about capitalism . One of them is this excellent biography of Milton Friedman. The book reveals that Friedman is an old-fashioned, classical liberal, not a conservative. But that’s just a slight gripe with the subtitle. The book is reminding us what the case for capitalism is. Everyone’s anti-capitalist nowadays, but when you stand back and look at the issue, what exactly is it they’re against? As we go into this world where people are much more critical of capitalism, it’s important to recognise the arguments. In the book, Jennifer Burns illustrates that Milton Friedman was much more than a brilliant academic, which I think everyone would agree he was: he got a Nobel Prize for economics . He was highly controversial, and many of his views, particularly on monetarism, are subject to debate. But he was much more a policy person, thinking about the architecture of policy. Of course he had a big role in the framework of Reagan and Thatcher. As a general rule, I think people should read things about people they disagree with. I think it’s fatal to go around and say (not that I am), ‘Oh, I’m a Keynesian, so I’ll read lots of books by good Keynesians.’ No! When I was an undergraduate a long time ago, like most students I thought Marx was brilliant, and I made myself read Hayek . The book also frames the debate about what firms and corporations are for in capitalism. Friedman’s view was that company directors and businesses should pursue profit, full stop. That’s often quoted in the text of ESG (environmental, social and governance) corporate purpose literature—it starts by saying Friedman is wrong."