Free to Choose: A Personal Statement Chapter Summary & Analysis | Chapter 1, The Power of the Market

Chapter 1, The Power of the Market Summary and Analysis

Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by Milton and Rose Friedman is a book about economics. The book illustrates the Friedmans' strong beliefs in free markets and capitalism. Milton Friedman's TV series, Free to Choose is based upon this book. The book combines introductory economics concepts with political philosophy, which is usually missing from many introductory economic courses. The Friedmans' economics is based on the themes of human freedom, economic freedom and equity and the book discusses what happens when these three concepts are ignored. The market relays information through prices; therefore, prices must be free to reach their own levels, based on the buying preferences of consumers and the selling preferences of producers, without any government interference. In this way, all market participants will receive the correct information from the markets without any distortions introduced by government rules, regulations and policies. This is basically Adam Smith's invisible hand concept....
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