The 'free market' manifesto that broke America and led to Trumpism [View all]
On Sept. 13, 1970, the New York Times published the "essay heard round the world." In his manifesto, economist Milton Friedman argued that corporations have one - and only one - obligation: maximizing profits for shareholders.
Five decades after the "Friedman Doctrine" emerged, the American middle class is in tatters. Long before the coronavirus, millions of Americans were poor, sick and angry; perfect prey for Donald Trump's resentful demagoguery and racial scapegoating.
Friedman's philosophy - "arguably the most consequential economic idea of the latter half of the 20th century" - changed America forever. Its singular focus on profits became gospel for generations of business school graduates, CEOs and politicians alike.
Little did they know that their fealty to Friedman's ideas would crush the American Dream.
According to Friedman, any business seeking "desirable 'social' ends" - such as "providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution" or even using higher quality ingredients in food - "undermines the basis of a free society."
In other words, beyond complying with the law, Friedman believed that corporations have no moral or ethical responsibility to their workers or to society as a whole.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-free-market-manifesto-that-broke-america-and-led-to-trumpism/ar-BB196Z5S?li=BBnb7Kz
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