When anyone complains about unfair competition, consumers beware.” Friedman tells us about the writings of Adam Smith who, 200 years ago, warned that businesses always try to sell for the highest price and will try to control the market to do so. But without government help businesses cannot force people to buy their goods. While government is essential to our well-being, government intrusion into economic and business affairs is impossible to tame once started. All forms of governmental price controls lead to higher prices because consumers will always get the lowest possible prices when competition is free and robust.
The Tyranny of Controls follows two countries with remarkably different outcomes: Japan and India. Where Japan has embraced an economy based on the free markets, India’s pathway followed that of centralized planning and government controls. The effect of the measures to ‘protect’ India’s workers prevented more productive jobs from emerging.
Mr. Friedman explains that while governments will self-profess to be ‘forward-looking,’ in practice, however, they look backward. This is because they are either protecting select industries or encourage the ventures they have decided to undertake. This type of government selection works to hinder new technologies and industries that would surely develop if the government let inefficient venturers fail. When you protect industries from failure, you take away their incentive to innovate or move on to more efficient industries.
In stark contrast to India, the textile industry in Japan had little help from the government. In order to survive, industry leaders innovated with a variety of electronic features.
WATCH the TYRANNY of CONTROL:
This is Volume 2 of 10 - Watch the Entire ‘Free to Choose’ Series. This is a 10-part series, volumes 1-5 were updated in 1990. Both versions are available online. Please watch all these important videos.
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose a survival kit for you, for our nation, and for freedom. ” -Ronald Reagan
Free To Choose – 1990 Series
- Volume 1 – The Power of the Market
- Volume 2 – The Tyranny of Control
- Volume 3 – Freedom & Prosperity / The Failure of Socialism
- Volume 4 – What’s Wrong with Our Schools?
- Volume 5 – Created Equal
Free To Choose – 1980 Series
- Volume 1 – The Power of the Market
- Volume 2 – The Tyranny of Control
- Volume 3 – Anatomy of Crisis
- Volume 4 – From Cradle to Grave
- Volume 5 – Created Equal
- Volume 6 – What’s Wrong with our Schools
- Volume 7 – Who Protects the Consumer?
- Volume 8 – Who Protects the Worker
- Volume 9 – How to Cure Inflation
- Volume 10 – How to Stay Free
