How Did Friedman's View Of Capitalism

In their writings, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels present their views on the political economy. They believed that society is based in economics, with every other facet of society, such as politics and education, being just an extension of economic factors. Because of this, each country would differ based on its economic system (Katz, Lecture, 4/1/15). Throughout these writings, Marx and Engel advocate for the use of the Communist system while spending much time critiquing capitalism. However, Milton Friedman, a major proponent of capitalism, presents views that are in direct opposition to those of Marx and Engels. While none of the views presented by these thinkers are perfect, Friedman’s ideas are ultimately most useful for the 20th Century.

This takes place in multiple forms. Chief among these is that the working class, the proletariat, becomes commodities for the labor owners, the bourgeoisie. This is because in order to get a job, they must, in effect, sell themselves as producers of labor. However, Marx and Engel assert that the more that the worker produces, the more he becomes an even “cheaper commodity” (122). This is because the workers are only paid enough wages to be able to live, saving even more of the profit for the owners. As a result, the workers must work simply in order to live. This, Marx and Engel state is the “estrangement” of the worker which is a major detriment to a communist system (123). Because the worker continues to produce more and more, his value becomes less and less. One of the basic ideas involved in the concept of estrangement is that workers become alienated from the fruits of their labor; by creating “wonderful things” for the owners, the workers are still living in “hovels” because they do not share in this wealth

He argued that unlike in communism, capitalism provides for complete freedom by allowing for economic and political freedom. Economic freedom, Friedman asserts, is the way to obtain political freedom. In creating economic freedom, the government would have to be decentralized creating less economic restrictions. Friedman states that this would give the most people the most economic power. As Friedman notes, there is no reason that all wealth in a system needs to be limited to only a certain segment of a population and with fairness, the whole population will grow economically. As long as the market is fair, there should be no subjugation of the workers as Marx and Engel stated that there is in any capitalist system. The state is still responsible for establishing and protecting the “rules of the game” that govern the economic system. This fairness would require three things from each party to any transaction: that they each consent, that they are both truthful and that the deal is mutually beneficial (Katz, Lecture, 4/20/15). Furthermore, working class will not be subjected to the estrangement that Marx and Engels criticize. While the state cannot interfere in people’s use of their freedom, the workers will still be protected from the harsh subjugation that Marx and Engels describe. This is because they have the “alternative of producing directly for” themselves by producing goods only