Free or Equal

As part of my Econ 1740 class, I watched a video entitled Free or Equal; a documentary commenting
on Nobel Laureate Milton Friedmans ideas about economic freedom. The following is a list of major
points in the video that my professor wanted to make sure we paid attention to:
1. Professor Milton Friedmans research led him to believe in the power of free markets and economic
freedom.
2. If the government gives everybody the same freedom to worksome will do better than others. The
result will be quality of opportunity, but not equality of outcome.
3. After World War II, Hong Kong became a refugee camp with millions of extremely poor people. Hong
Kong had no prospects, no natural resources and little land that could be cultivated. But almost by
accident it was given economic freedom.As a result, Hong Kong became an economic powerhouse.
4. In the small Baltic country of Estonia, Prime Minister Mart Laar took his inspiration from Professor
Friedmans book Free to Choose. He imitated the Hong Kong model by implementing three things: zero
tariffs, a flat tax, and a minimum of regulation.
5. Adam Smiths concept of the invisible hand was illustrated in the example of buying a tomato. The
following three points were made: We vote with our pocketbooks. Every purchase sends a message. To
make your life better, you have to better the lives of others.
6. Economists call the constant renewal of the economy creative destruction. To increase our wealth and
opportunities, we have to stop doing old things in old ways and start doing innovative things in better
ways. In other words, we have to be creative.
7. Swedish entrepreneurs are the oldest in the world. Young Swedes and entrepreneurial immigrants have
moved from Sweden to Britain and the U.S. because the rewards are much greater there, where the
taxes are lower.
8. The Founding Fathers had learned the lesson of history. The great danger to freedom is the
concentration of power, especially in the hands of a government.
9. As Milton Friedman said, The society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither. The
society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a great measure of both.
10. Professor Friedman compares the concept of equality of opportunity to a race where everyone begins
at the starting line at the same time. In contrast, equality of outcome guarantees that everyone
finishes at the same time. Today, equality of outcome is referred to as fair shares for all.
My professor points out: If we applied the fair shares for all concept in this class, all students would receive an
average grade of C. This would be accomplished by taking points away from students earning As and Bs to
give to students earning Ds and Es. Distributing points equally would result in fair grades for all.
Throughout the video, and as I considered my thoughts on the matter, I could hear the voices of my children
whining in the background. Its not fair! I wonder if anyone has ever done a study regarding how many times a
parent responds, life is not fair. It really is not possible for life to be fair if by fair you mean that everyone
gets the same things. We canand should!do our best to see that all have an equal opportunity to succeed,
but the fact of it is that some are better able to succeed. Whether because of their background, talents, or just
blind luck. Professor Friedmans example of a race is a good way to look at it. As I have indicated, another
analogy can be found when a parent is dealing with children. The final example, which is surely easily
understood by all, is the example given by my professor in regards to fair grades for all.
Imagine the Boston Marathon. Can you picture the thousands of racers lined up and ready to start, the
thousands more spectators anxiously waiting? Now imagine that rather than breaking the tape at the beginning
of the race, the tape is moved at a steady pace in front of the runners for the entire 26 miles so that all may
finish at the same time. Would anyone want to participate in such a race? Would anyone want to watch it?
Everyone may achieve the same reward at the end, but it is in no way fair. As Friedman put it, It requires that
the freedom of some be restricted in order to provide greater benefits to others. In such a race, there is no
motivation to train and better yourself. The person who spends countless hours of his life conditioning his body
to withstand the punishment of running for 26 miles straight is considered to be the same as the person who
must walk the entire way because they have not prepared. Soon, there would be very few who would be able to
run the race. Only those who truly enjoyed running for its own sake would even bother to try. The finish times
would drop every year.
Now, consider the job of a parent. Any parentand any thinking person for that matterknows that every child
is different. Each child is a unique person with a combination of likes, dislikes, and personality quirks that are
unlike any other. Because of this it is impossible to create an identical experience for every child. Say a family
has a curfew of 10 oclock on weeknights. If a son who loves video games, and a daughter who cannot live
without her cell phone both break curfew, and the punishment for both is a loss of gaming privileges, the son
feels it harshly, and the daughter not at all. The rule broken is the same, and the punishment is the same, but it
isnt really equal. A parent can compensate for inequalities like this by tailoring punishments and rewards to
each child, but such is not the case for societies. The best society can do is try to make an even playing field.
Then the invisible hand spoken of by Adam Smith comes into play. Individuals learn from their successes and
failures, and find the places where they fit in society, to the benefit of themselves, and others.
The free online English dictionary (dictionary.com) defines fair as free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice. If we
use this definitionrather than the childish view that things are not fair unless I have everything you have
then fair comes to mean that everyone gets what they earn. If a student in a classroom earns an A grade, that
student should receive an A. If a student earns a D, then that is what he should get. The same should be true
in our economy and society. You cannot take something away from someone who has earned it and give it to
someone who has not, and call that fair.
What it all comes down to is choice and consequences. We are free to make our own choices. In the United
States, we are given the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but those rights are not
unconditionally guaranteed. Choices have consequences. If a man chooses to take the life of another, the
consequence is a forfeit of a portion of his libertyand sometimes his own life. If a man chooses to use the
talents he has to become the best runner he can be, the consequence will be a faster time than someone who
has not made the same choice. A good parent will teach this lesson by attaching positive and negative
consequences to a childs choices, and when that child goes off to college and parties away his first semester he
will not be surprised to see the consequences reflected in his grades. Fair shares for all is a myth. Equally
distributing something that has not been equally earned is not equality at all. Trying to do such a thing will only
weaken societies, and discourage people from trying to succeed. As said by Johan Norberg, The risk is that the
outcome is that we are all equally poor.
Reflective Writing
Watching this video really opened my eyes to why economic freedom is so important. I now more fully
understand what economic freedom is, and how it is connected to other freedoms. I think I have always agreed
with the principles promoted by Milton Friedman, but after watching the video I feel that I am more equipped to
share those views with others. By explaining how a free economy can be a tough deal for some because it
creates winners and losers, but that it benefits society as a whole because it encourages growth and
innovationproducing wealth that indirectly benefits all, the video has given me the words to communicate my
thoughts more effectively with others.
Friedman pleads with us to understand the lesson that our Founding Fathers knew when they penned our
Constitution. The great danger to freedom is the concentration of power, especially in the hands of a
government. I can see how individual freedoms can be squashed by over involvement of even well-meaning
governments. When reviewing the platforms of future political candidates I will be paying attention to whether
they seem to be advocating more or less government involvement. I really appreciate the opportunity to better
understand this aspect of my home country.