Review by Choice Review
Burns (history, Stanford Univ.) masterfully chronicles the biography of Milton Friedman (1912--2006), an influential Nobel Laureate economist and public intellectual. The book's subtitle, which refers to Friedman as a conservative, is misleading; Friedman repeatedly called himself a libertarian. In fact, he formulated his public policies on the principle of individual liberty and responsibility. Liberty was so fundamental to him that he referred to both forced segregation (in the Jim Crow era) and the subsequent forced integration as evil. (He said, however, if he had to choose one, he would opt for integration.) His most consequential public policies include Negative Income Tax (NIT) and Volunteer Army (VA). NIT has morphed into the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has been embraced by both political parties and empowers recipients to spend their money the way they choose. Similarly, under a system of VA, people choose whether to join the armed forces. He pushed hard for a school system based on vouchers, so parents can choose their preferred schools for their children. To maximize individual freedom, Friedman sought to minimize the intrusion of government in people's lives while also rejecting anarchy. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty. --Farhad Rassekh, University of Hartford
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Stanford historian Burns (Goddess of the Market) delivers a robust if somewhat dry survey of the evolution of Milton Friedman's economic thought--particularly his struggles to make sense of inflation--and his lasting impact on global monetary policy and conservative politics. Friedman's economic philosophy, known as "monetarism," sought to balance the maximization of personal freedom through limited government involvement in economic matters against the belief that inflation needed to be managed, and the best way to do so was to " upon government control of money." (This includes the printing of money and the international system of floating exchange rates.) Burns explains that Friedman's ideas about freedom and government were forged in his young adulthood during the Great Depression (he argued against the direct government intervention, such as hiring public works employees and price controls, that characterized the American response), and can be traced through his other social and political beliefs, among them his resistance to the civil rights movement ("his concept of freedom was woefully thin," Burns writes). Friedman's personality occasionally shines through (when his wife dragged him to the opera, he brought along a book to read), but Burns's focus is on the institutional ramifications of his theory and activism (she notes that by teaming up with far-right politician Barry Goldwater, Friedman "solidified an alliance between libertarian economics and reactionary populism"). It's a comprehensive accounting of Friedman's legacy. (Nov.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The first full-length biography of the 20th century's free market champion. To call this book merely a biography of Milton Friedman (1912-2006) is a disservice. It would be difficult to imagine a more comprehensive portrait of the influences, hard economics, and personal struggles and triumphs that shaped his life. From Friedman's upbringing in New Jersey as the son of Jewish immigrants to his work on economic policy in the federal government during the New Deal, his scholarship at the University of Chicago, and the Nobel Prize in economics, Stanford history professor Burns sets Friedman's story within the context of the evolution of 20th-century economic theories and the individuals who influenced them, including luminaries such as John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek. The author examines Friedman's work with the concepts of monetarism, price theory, and free market capitalism; his conservatism and reliance on tradition and first principles in the development of new economic interpretations; and his association with the American conservative political movement. Burns briefly touches on Friedman's popular TV series Free to Choose, which gave him an even wider audience. The program, notes the author, "proved a major platform for Friedman's views, dovetailing with the emergent anti-government, tax-cutting sentiment the Reagan campaign was built on." Burns also delivers a wonderful profile of the central figure in Friedman's life, his wife, Rose, a formidable intellect and economist in her own right, in addition to discussing the role several other women economists played in his career. The author is evenhanded throughout and unafraid to critique. Her analysis of Friedman's work and interests, the descriptions of his wrangles with antisemitism, and her exploration of the role of women in the field of economics are sharp and illuminating. The book, both demanding and thorough, is not for casual readers, but it is required reading for anyone interested in the history of academic and applied economics, the principles of free market capitalism, and one of its most celebrated defenders. A masterful profile of a most consequential American. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
