The entire TV series of Milton Friedman’s "Free to Choose" is at www.ideachannel.tv. Thanks to Paul Winfree for the pointer.
Free to Choose is now free and on-line
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Free to Choose,as “Libre para elegir”, is also available in Spanish: http://newmedia.ufm.edu/freetochoose/ Enjoy!
Forgive me for posting this question here. I am not a student nor an economist. I just got some junk mail the other day from the CATO Institute. I just have to ask someone if it sounds true. They said something that was very interesting. They said that the Great Depression was caused by “the newly coined Federal Reserve which artificially expanded and then contracted, money and credit in the economy.” They also said that the “Smoot-Hawley Tariff exacerbated the economic dislocations, as did FDR’s refusal to allow diversification of financial institutions and his insistence that wages be held artificially high.” “Those policies combined to create massive unemployment..” Does that ring true to you? Is it not more complicated than that? Is there something in economics 101 that gives that impression of the Great Depression? I went to college 30 years ago. Did I miss something? Perhaps, I took too many chemistry courses. Frank
Frank,
No forgiveness needed, it is an excellent question for this forum and this comment.
Milton Friedman would say this is precisely what happened. Head toward http://www.ideachannel.tv/ and access Free to Choose, Original 1980 Series, and watch the first 30 minutes of Volume 3: Anatomy of a Crisis.
The video answers your question directly. The issue is also addressed in the book version of Free to Choose if you prefer reading.
I do believe education on the issue has evolved. To the best of my memory, monetary policy was highlighted in my economics education on the great depression (I left school 5 years ago).
Obviously, agendas may push a teacher’s lessons. My high school english teacher loved to show capitalism as a spiraling upward followed by “unavoidable” total crash. Looking back, I find that rather entertaining.
Hopefully this opens a new door for you. Friedman’s other episodes are as engaging and still pertinent today (maybe not 1980 #9, Friedman’s work has helped quell inflation).
All the best,
Erich
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