Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West

by R.R. Reno

The bulk of Capitalism and Freedom concerns specific policies that Friedman believes will promote greater wealth and more freedom for postwar Americans. The book shares Hayek’s anti-totalitarian moral purpose. The great threat to freedom is government power, the monster state. By its nature, centralized authority must legislate for all citizens, the lawmaker standing above, judging for the community what is right and good, and then imposing that judgment on all. The dangers are obvious. If we vest our government with the power to organize society, we alienate our freedom to someone above us. There is great potential for abuse in this relationship, to say the least, and Friedman makes the commonsense observation that “coordination without coercion” is preferable to principles of social organization that require coercion.19 As Henry David Thoreau observed, “The best government is that which governs least.” Aristotle held a similar view, though he drew conclusions quite different from those of Friedman and the classical liberal tradition. Aristotle saw that a free society requires well-trained citizens who are habituated to seek what is just. The more virtuous the populace, the less coercion will be needed. According to Aristotle and other classical thinkers, reality will always be imperfect. As James Madison noted, men are not angels, and so government coercion will always be necessary. Like Friedman, Madison was anxious about the abuse of government power. His proposed solu...