Milton Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom"

I recently had a conversation with a professor, herself a fellow Libertarian, about the challenges of defending Libertarian philosophies against the more Statist ideas that have come to pervade modern society. On the surface the ideas of Social Security, public housing programs, worker unions, and licensing all sound, not just harmless, but necessary. The fact of the matter is that these and many similar government programs are, at best, ineffective and at worse hurt those they claim to help.

What Milton Friedman offers in his book "Capitalism and Freedom" is an in-depth examination of many such topics in terms of their economic and social impact. Unlike many authors who write in support of capitalism, Friedman examines each topic with no pre-concieved notions. This allows him to weigh each argument and give reasons why, in general, capitalism is the most effective and efficient means, rather than simply talking about how great it is.

Even though it's not exactly a page-turner, and its 202 pages took me quite a while to get through, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in capitalism and the economic justification for it. The book is especially interesting because it was written in 1962. Friedman predicts the expansion of the government into new areas, such as medical care, so it's fun to see how his predictions have come to pass, and whether he was correct or not.

So, my verdict: A good read no matter what your political and economic leanings. At the very least it will get you thinking through why things are they way they are and if there might just be other, better options.