Good morning! Please respond to this post with a thought-provoking
quotation by your philosopher. Explain why you find it so interesting
and what it says about your thinker's greater ideas.
“A society which is socialist cannot be democratic, in the sense of guaranteeing individual freedom.” I think this quote is significant and interesting because it talks about his belief about the kind of society we live in. It says that a socialist society can't be a democratic. A socialist society can't promise people their own freedom.
"One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. We all know a famous road that is paved with good intentions. The people who go around talking about their soft heart, I admire them for the softness of their hearts, but unfortunately, it very often extends to their head as well, because the fact is that the programs that are labeled as being for the poor, for the needy, almost always have effects exactly the opposite of those which their well-intentioned sponsors intend them to have." I found this quote especially interesting because it highlights many of the problems that are rampant throughout politics. He demonstrates one of these problems with his witty saying about soft hearts extending heads. Regardless of one's political stance, I think anyone would agree that politicians are often judged and elected based on their rhetoric and intentions, rather than the results of their policy ideas. Furthermore, Friedman makes me realize with this quote the common misconception among many that problems arise or can be solved based on how much people care or how compassionate they are. Almost all of Milton Friedman's writings and speeches talk about how most causes of widespread prosperity are not brought about by people who are selfless or compassionate. Rather he argues that upward mobility and an increased standard of living for the common person has primarily been due to individuals following their own economic self-interests, thus resulting in the voluntary cooperation and widespread success that occurs in a capitalist system.
"Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it."
I think that this is interesting because it is saying that no matter how good someone's intentions are, power will still be harmful to others. What this says about Friedman is that no matter who is in the government, it will still do more harm than good.
The world runs on individuals pursuing their self interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn't construct his theory under order from a, from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn't revolutionize the automobile industry that way.
In this quote Friedman discusses one of his core ideas; that every person has the right to individual success and that the greatest achievements are individual ones.
"If you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand." This is a very thought-provoking quote because it shows bluntly how strongly Milton Friedman feels that the government and many elected officials just spend spend spend money on the wrong things and waste money.
"I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal."
This quote is basically saying that the government shouldn't interfere with peoples lives. People can do whatever they want and the government focuses too much on things that are not harmful and don't have a huge impact in society. Everyone should have an option to do them if they want to, they are really just harming themselves.
“A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.”
I thought this quote was very interesting because he thinks freedom is the most important part of a society and if freedom is on top of everything else then everything else should fall into place. if the government tries to make equality before freedom then they will get nothing out of it
“A society which is socialist cannot be democratic, in the sense of guaranteeing individual freedom.”
ReplyDeleteI think this quote is significant and interesting because it talks about his belief about the kind of society we live in. It says that a socialist society can't be a democratic. A socialist society can't promise people their own freedom.
"One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. We all know a famous road that is paved with good intentions. The people who go around talking about their soft heart, I admire them for the softness of their hearts, but unfortunately, it very often extends to their head as well, because the fact is that the programs that are labeled as being for the poor, for the needy, almost always have effects exactly the opposite of those which their well-intentioned sponsors intend them to have."
ReplyDeleteI found this quote especially interesting because it highlights many of the problems that are rampant throughout politics. He demonstrates one of these problems with his witty saying about soft hearts extending heads. Regardless of one's political stance, I think anyone would agree that politicians are often judged and elected based on their rhetoric and intentions, rather than the results of their policy ideas. Furthermore, Friedman makes me realize with this quote the common misconception among many that problems arise or can be solved based on how much people care or how compassionate they are. Almost all of Milton Friedman's writings and speeches talk about how most causes of widespread prosperity are not brought about by people who are selfless or compassionate. Rather he argues that upward mobility and an increased standard of living for the common person has primarily been due to individuals following their own economic self-interests, thus resulting in the voluntary cooperation and widespread success that occurs in a capitalist system.
"Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it."
ReplyDeleteI think that this is interesting because it is saying that no matter how good someone's intentions are, power will still be harmful to others. What this says about Friedman is that no matter who is in the government, it will still do more harm than good.
The world runs on individuals pursuing their self interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn't construct his theory under order from a, from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn't revolutionize the automobile industry that way.
ReplyDeleteIn this quote Friedman discusses one of his core ideas; that every person has the right to individual success and that the greatest achievements are individual ones.
"If you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand." This is a very thought-provoking quote because it shows bluntly how strongly Milton Friedman feels that the government and many elected officials just spend spend spend money on the wrong things and waste money.
ReplyDelete"I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal."
ReplyDeleteThis quote is basically saying that the government shouldn't interfere with peoples lives. People can do whatever they want and the government focuses too much on things that are not harmful and don't have a huge impact in society. Everyone should have an option to do them if they want to, they are really just harming themselves.
The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.
ReplyDeleteThis quote showcases the fact that he does not like government
“A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.”
ReplyDeleteI thought this quote was very interesting because he thinks freedom is the most important part of a society and if freedom is on top of everything else then everything else should fall into place. if the government tries to make equality before freedom then they will get nothing out of it