Friedman endorsed vouchers and NIT tactically to dismantle government programs

Evidence

“We are talking at cross purposes because of what I regard as the important necessity of keeping clearly separate the longrun ideal goal and tactical steps that may be appropriate in moving toward it,” he told Patrick Buchanan. “I have long supported and pushed the voucher plan for schooling as well as the negative income tax in welfare. In both cases I do so not because these are necessarily part of my ideal utopian society but because they seem to me the most effective steps, given where we are, in moving toward where we want to go.” The voucher system was a trojan horse that would enable the gradual extinction of governmentrun schools: “By permitting parents to supplement the voucher, it is possible to conceive of the system developing into one where the government contribution becomes less and less.” Similarly, the negative income tax would allow for the gradual diminution of welfare benefi ts until they disappeared altogether. “Exactly the same logic underlies my belief in a negative income tax,” he told Buchanan. “I see no other way in which we can go from our present situation toward the ultimate situation you and I would like.” Friedman was vocal about these longterm goals when he engaged in discussion with ideological sympathizers, but he only rarely mentioned them when addressing a general audience. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 495

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader Mont Pèlerin milieu research — Friedman’s dual-track advocacy echoes how MPS figures separated long-run ideals from tactical steps, paralleling earlier chapters’ treatment of Hayek’s strategy. — connects to: Friedman deliberately courted unpopular positions because he found them low-cost and rewarding — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 391; Nixon’s EITC implemented Friedman’s NIT only for workers — Anton Jäger and Daniel Zamora Vargas, Welfare for Markets: A Global History…, 197
• SEED: Angle: ‘vouchers as trojan horse’ — the explicit strategic use of mainstream-sounding reforms to effect radical dismantlement, which could frame a piece on how policy moderation can launder radical goals.
• DEEPTHINKING: The deliberate separation of utopian ideal from tactical step, confessed only to ideological sympathizers, is a nuanced model of how radical policy reformation actually proceeds — deserves sustained reflection.

Broader Connections

• Friedman deliberately courted unpopular positions because he found them low-cost and rewarding #expands (0.85) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 391