Milton Friedman, that great apologist of capitalism and the free enterprise system, was born on July 31, 1912. One of his particularly insightful quotes was about the stupidity of thinking that governments would somehow be self-sacrificially generous in regulating the economy and also more effective than allowing each person to pursue his interests by contributing meaningfully to society.
Communists like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Mayor Zohran Mamdani all talk as if the only thing lacking to make society a paradise of equality and prosperity is more government regulation. It is rather ironic that this thinking has even poisoned many Republican minds at the federal and state levels, even though government involvement has only resulted in a lot more monopolies, a lot fewer small businesses, and a lot higher prices in multiple industries.
Friedman challenged utopians and socialists, “Well first of all, tell me: Is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed? You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? Of course, none of us are greedy, it’s only the other fellow who’s greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus.”
The reality is that government officials are just as greedy, if not even more greedy than the average person, which means that the best way to operate an economy is to put as much emphasis as possible on the free market. When people can benefit themselves by their work and only by contributing through their labor or creative thinking to the success and satisfaction of others, such individuals are much more likely to be inventive, hard-working, and successful than if government regulation is always the albatross around their necks. America was the hub of industrial production and invention back when there were much fewer government regulations and many more small businesses and individual operators.
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As Friedman pointed out, “Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re talking about, the only cases in recorded history, are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worse off, worst off, it’s exactly in the kinds of societies that depart from that.”
A 2017 Auburn University study estimated that every government regulator costs the U.S. economy $11 million and 138 private sector jobs a year. In January 2025, economic expert Peter St. Onge published his analysis with the updated number of each regulator costing America $16.5 million of economic output annually. In contrast, in the 19th and 20th centuries, a freer capitalist system saw significant wealth creation, innovation, and labor condition improvements in America. How different it is from the mass famines that Communist countries, including China, Russia, and Cambodia, experienced thanks to horrific government mismanagement.
Friedman rightly observed, “So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear, that there is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by the free-enterprise system.” America should return to that system and axe most of the burdensome regulations retarding growth.
