FRIEDMAN WAS MORE THAN A GREAT ECONOMIST

On Nov. 16, the world lost a great hero of freedom and
libertarianism. Milton Friedman died at the age of 94 after living a
life that had many accomplishments -- including a Nobel Prize -- and
provided millions around the world with freedoms that are sometimes
taken for granted.

Undoubtedly, Friedman was the greatest economist of the 20th century.
His promotion of monetarism provided an economic alternative to that
of the Keynesian concept which called for more government spending,
intentional deficits, public work projects, etc. The laissez-faire
attitude of Friedman put less emphasis on government intervention and
more on individual freedom and personal responsibility.

Even today, such an anti-statist philosophy may sound out of place,
but in one of Friedman's famous quotes, he sums it up exquisitely,
"The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the
problem." He advocated against rent controls, minimum wages and
welfare, all of which leave people living in ghettos, unemployed and
trapped in a self-defeatist world of government dependence.

Socialists have always ranted and railed about ways to help the poor,
but inevitably they do far more harm than good. The philosophy of
objectivism -- working for yourself and not asking anyone to work for
you -- creates far better results both economically and morally and
this is something Friedman understood.

In fact, he would even argue with his more conservative supporters by
advocating a concept dear to many current Canadians, that of drug
legalization. Believe it or not, the man that was the driving force
behind "Reaganomics" stated, "I'm in favour 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." He was of course referring to the
amount of resources dedicated to the war on drugs as well as the
underworld violence it feeds.

In recent years he advocated school vouchers which would be provided
to parents to use on private schools that they think would benefit
their children the most. This ultimately would take the control away
from teachers unions and the state, and put it into the hands of the
people who know best, the parents. Again, it goes back toward the
concept of individual choice and that of creating a free and
competitive market.

Here in Canada, two main areas of concern are those of health care
and education. When it comes to those areas, debate is often stifled
even as the two continue to crumble. Eventually we will be forced to
ask some important questions. Friedman has already provided us with
the answers; it is just that there are few leaders prepared to debate
the issues, let alone make the right decisions.

We have much to thank Friedman for. Without his economic
counter-revolution, we would not be reaping the benefits of free
trade and globalization. Yet we still have a long way to go and it is
not difficult to reverse the benefits we have acquired. Canadians and
Americans alike are overtaxed and continuously face ever increasing
bureaucracies, laws and "nanny state" policies which stunt not only
growth, but the human spirit.

Indeed, one does not have to look very far to see the reality of
Friedman's observation, "We have a system that increasingly taxes
work and subsidizes nonwork." Look at our eastern provinces, many
agricultural industries, the Indian reserves in Northern Ontario and
elsewhere in Canada. The socialist concept of throwing money away is
not the solution, nor has it ever been; personal responsibility,
individual freedoms, and as little government intervention is.

While the world has lost a great hero of freedom and economic
thought, it can pay its tribute to him and give thanks by forsaking
altruism and achieving our best as individuals.