Capitalism and Friedman's Questions

"The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."
--Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

Although he certainly had his issues, particularly w.r.t. monetary policy, Milton Friedman clearly understood capitalism and its capacity to relieve human suffering. In the 1979 Phil Donahue clip that Rand Paul shares below, Friedman observes that greed, defined as individuals acting in their own self interest, is the driver of prosperity.

Happy Birthday to the brilliant Milton Friedman. Great video from Friedman on greed. He takes the criticisms and assumptions about Capitalism and turns them around to show how they are even more applicable to government and collectivist systems. pic.twitter.com/WekgNCc01R

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 31, 2018

Moreover, the questioning approach that Friedman uses is powerful. These are questions people must ask on the road to truth. You can tell by Donahue's and the audience's reaction that he is getting them to think.

When teaching, I hope to employ more of this questioning approach myself.