Free To Choose Media Podcast

What can nature teach us? It’s a question that mankind has investigated since the beginning of time. We’ve learned so much, but there’s still even more that we don’t know. That’s why people like David Attenborough dedicate their lives to studying the world around us. The lessons that David has learned over the years have filled multiple hours of television programming and even more publications and writings. One particular opinion of his, on the role of zoos in our society, stands out in today’s focus on the ethical treatment of animals. “I think the zoos have two very important functions.  …

Critics of the free market system often point out that it is an unfair system due to it leaving some with wealth at the expense of oppressing others. What those critics often ignore is that exchanges in this economic structure are voluntary. Each side comes out of the interaction with their desired result. Since the seller is amassing wealth by helping others get the goods and services they need, isn’t that more moral than proposed socialist solutions? When it comes to the relationship between morals and economics, Dr. Walter Williams has this to say, “Unless you believe that there’s a …

Government regulation is a force that influences nearly every aspect of our daily lives. The intentions are usually well-meaning. They are created to fix a problem or a perceived market failure. The problem that we run into time and time again is that the fixes usually create another problem, while only putting a temporary patch over the initial problem. The response is usually another patch with the same result. In the words of Nobel laureate George Stigler, “The trouble is that normally the way (advocates) want to solve the problem is to create either a new agency, or a new …

What is money? For thousands of years currency was tied to a commodity, if the commodity itself wasn’t actually exchanged. Today, that relationship has drastically been altered. Money, as a human institution, has evolved from having a real value to only having a perceived value. Milton Friedman traces it back to one specific date. “It’s seldom that you can date precisely when there’s a major change in a human institution let alone in a monetary institution. But you know it’s an interesting fact that you can date precisely a really drastic change in the character in the monetary system around …

Are science and religion incompatible? It’s a conversation that tends to get heated very quickly. Science has answered several of our questions about the universe, but the theological debate keeps returning to one point, the beginning. As you could expect, a balanced discussion on the topic eventually leads to more questions than answers. “How the earth formed, how life arose from the earth, how man evolved. All of that is explainable in a very satisfying way. Does that prove that God does not exist? The trouble with drawing that conclusion is that when you step back to look at the …

What effects did world events, such as world wars and depression, have on the economies of nations such as Germany, and the former Soviet Union? As hyperinflation raged, the real value of currency in these nations became a question mark. Countries today are still ravaged with the same problem. As revolutions erupt and regimes change, the effect on purchasing power is hard to ignore. How can the problems of “out of control” inflation be solved? As Milton Friedman describes the issue, “Country after country has seen its monetary system blow up in its face, and subsequently, it’s had to do …

Money, wealth, and capital can move around the world in mere seconds. Within any economic structure, capital is the building block of prosperity. With relatively new ease of access to resources, how has that changed our society? Developing nations no longer need to start from scratch, or wait long periods of time to meet demand for certain items. This has fundamentally changed what is considered capital along with the way our world and our governments function. Author and Professor Richard B. McKenzie puts it in these easy to understand terms, “The big difference is not so much the need for …

Despite general agreement on the academic theory behind economics, the implementation of those findings into society usually leads to disagreement. There are simply too many variables within a society to achieve a consensus. So with the unpredictable nature of individuals, how can economists even begin to predict the results of their theories? Milton Friedman reflects on his process, “What we insist on is that you’re not able to predict random, irrational behavior. And therefore, the only kind of behavior that you can hope to predict is behavior that has some regularity. One individual may behave any way at all. But …

Welfare programs are often touted as the saving grace of those living in poverty. But, as with any governmental program there tends to be unintended consequences despite noble intentions. How have welfare programs changed the overall culture of those living in poverty? It’s a question that most people have never posed to themselves. Social scientist Charles Murray has researched that very question for years. He poses that these programs have changed the perception of those who have money and those who work hard. “One of the most tragic things that you encounter are the stories of the 16-year-old who goes …

Reforming healthcare is something that only gets more complicated with time. Rising costs, increased government involvement, and complex insurance policies only compound the problem further. These are problems that have been going on for decades with no clear resolution. But, what about looking at healthcare from an economic standpoint? Can market forces solve the problem? Noted economists Milton Friedman and Alain Enthoven once sat down to discuss exactly that. The start of the problem, they found, came when employers became primarily responsible for providing healthcare. What started off as government price controls has evolved into the system we have today …