Word: libertarianism
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...radical capitalism is how Friedman describes his book. Friedman is not advocating state capitalism with business and government exchanging favors in the same bed. Nor does he favor welfare state mixed capitalism or the conservative capitalism of his father. Rather he proposes the capitalism of a consistently free, radical libertarian society...
Private property is the machinery of freedom. That is the thesis of Friedman's book. He begins by describing private property institutions, why they are necessary, and how they work. He centers this framework around a basic libertarian ideal--each person should be free to run and control his own life. How Friedman applies these ideas to specific problems shows why he is definitely radical, but defies left-right labels...
LIKE ALL GOOD libertarians, Friedman takes stands which are considered left wing on some issues and right wing on others. He writes, "A libertarian society would have no laws against drugs, gambling, or pornography--and no compulsory seat belts on cars. We also reject the idea that people have an enforceable claim on others for anything more than being left alone. A libertarian society would have no welfare, no social security system...
...other hand, Friedman and the libertarian movement takes several stands that are considered right wing. Libertarians support a laissez-faire free market and oppose government interference with all property rights. They favor replacing social security with a system of private old-age insurance. Another libertarian goal is the development of a private free market education system. As the first step, Friedman advocates a voucher plan of school financing. The government returns in the form of a voucher the portion of each person's taxes it would have spent on education. The individual would then be free to use the voucher...
FRIEDMAN DOES not speak for all libertarians; the movement is too diverse for that. His book is an addition to the growing shelf of works that seek to outline a future consistently libertarian society. USC philosophy professor John Hospers, Ayn Rand, and Murray Rothbard are others who have written similar books. Many have hailed Rothbard's scholarly "For a New Liberty" as the libertarian manifesto and he has become the leading theoretician of the movement...