Friedman’s market optimism exceeded even the Victorian laissez-faire theorists

Evidence

The universality of Friedman’s belief in the effi cacy of free markets exceeded even that of the nineteenthcentury theorists whose legacy Hayek had spent the postwar years working to overcome. His was not a Spencerian or Sumnerian world in which free markets dealt crushing blows to some in order to contribute to the greater advancement of humanity. Rather, it was one in which incontrovertible benefi ts redounded, in a display of spectacular bounty, to people of all kinds and in all situations. He represented markets as an unremitting good. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 467

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the neoliberal project’s self-image: Friedman made markets a universal good rather than a tragic necessity, contrasting with Spencer’s harsh social Darwinism. — connects to: Friedman saw market expansion as reducing the need for political deliberation — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 794
• DEFINE: A precise characterization distinguishing Friedman’s optimistic free-market universalism from earlier laissez-faire’s acknowledgment of losers.

Broader Connections

• Friedman saw market expansion as reducing the need for political deliberation #expands (0.82) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 794