The United States and The Myth of Free Market - The Role of the Government In Historical Perspective
"The Wealth of the Nation" by Seymour Fogel via Wikimedia Commons In his bestseller Free to Choose economist Milton Friedman offered a vision of American economic history that revolved around the idea of freedom. He wrote: "Ever since the first settlements of Europeans in the New World America has been a magnet for people seeking adventure, fleeing from tyranny, or simply trying to make a better life for themselves and their children ... When they arrived, they did not find streets paved with gold; they did not find an easy life. They did find freedom and an opportunity to make the most of their talents. Through hard work, ingenuity, thrift, and luck, most of them succeeded ... "The story of the United States is the story of an economic miracle and a political miracle that was made possible by the translation into practice of two sets of ideas .... One [of them] was embodied in the Wealth of Nations, the masterpiece [by] Adam Smith [w...