Friedman’s rhetorical gifts made him uniquely persuasive among economists

Evidence

Although Friedman remembered the dramatics of his Haverford presen ta tion as a uniquely impressive “coup,” its underlying narrative was repeated throughout his public career. As an economist, he was uniquely— perhaps unprecedentedly— skilled as a rhetorician. He had mastered the diffi cult art of persuading diverse audiences to take seriously an unconventional point of view. “No other American economist of the fi rst rank can match Friedman’s forensic skills and persuasive powers,” the Washington Post wrote in 1963. Those intrepid enough to serve as his public sparring partners often found themselves “torn to shreds,” as the New York Times said of a former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Walter Heller, in 1970. His per for mances before Congress left some of its members spellbound; one said, using terms rarely applied to an economist, that Friedman could “thrill me as nobody has since Teddy Roo se velt.” Paul Samuelson backhandedly remarked that Friedman’s personal powers of persuasion were so formidable that his ideas, if he suddenly passed away, would disappear with him. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 470

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the theme of rhetoric and persuasion in the Mont Pèlerin milieu that runs through this book and to adjacent treatments of how economic ideas are popularized. — connects to: Friedman’s rhetorical power fused critique of the present with utopian promise — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 492; Friedman’s rise marked a shift from Hayekian sensibility to a public-facing rhetorical mode — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 385; Keynesian dominance gave way to Friedman’s influence in economics — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 392

Broader Connections

• Friedman’s rhetorical power fused critique of the present with utopian promise #expands (0.85) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 492
• Friedman’s rise marked a shift from Hayekian sensibility to a public-facing rhetorical mode #expands (0.70) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 385
• Keynesian dominance gave way to Friedman’s influence in economics #corroborates (0.70) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 392