The New York Times called him the godfather of thecredo that “prosperity springs from markets free of all governmentmanagement."? The investment bankerMyron Gushlak captures the essence of Friedman when he paraphrases, “If thegovernment ran the Sahara desert, we’d run out of sand in five years."? In these days of public clamoring forgovernment intervention into the economy, Friedman stands alone, metaphorically,of course; he died in 2006. His principles, once embraced by Ronald Reagan,have fallen into disfavor.
??????????? Thewonderful novel, White Man’s Grave,comes to mind every time I hear someone stand and call for intervention intothe free market system. With apologies to the author, Richard Dooling, part ofthat novel is about a corporate lawyer who in gratitude to an African villagefor helping to locate his missing Peace Corps son, sends over tons of grain (Ithink it was rice, but I don’t remember) to help feed the starving inhabitants.Half of the “gift" went immediately to corrupt village officials. The remaindercaused a flood in the grain market, dropping the price precipitously, andresulted in the bankruptcy of the few legitimate farmers in the area. Thelawyer, back home in Chicago and unaware of the negative consequences of hisgenerosity, was smugly self congratulatory with his largesse.
??????????? Whetheror not to help is a fundamental human dilemma. When your child falls, shouldyou help him up or let him struggle to his feet on his own? The economy hasfallen. I watch it struggling
, unsure of what might be the best thing to do. Iwish I had a little more faith that our leaders had a better idea than I.??
