The Challenge for our Generation

Peter Robinson, in his Man Friday column, on Forbes, recounts a conversation with the late, great Milton Friedman, pictured at left. He offered the great man a compliment on how the battle for individual liberty had been won because no respectable economics department in the country espoused openly collectivist theories any longer. Friedman answered as follows:

"The challenge for my generation," he said, "was to provide an intellectual defense of liberty. The challenge for your generation is to keep it."

Friedman said that despite the election of free market champions such as Ronald Reagan, the size and intrusiveness of government continued to grow. Robinson initially disagreed, but he now has a long litany of complaints against the Bush administration and Republicans on how they grew the size of government. His list includes increased prescription drug benefits, McCain attacking Wall Street greed and stating that government should ensure affordable mortgages for all, proposed Big 3 auto bailout, proposals to federalize health insurance and the list goes on. Read the whole thing here.

Each generation has its challenges, the restoration of individual liberty and limited government is a challenge for ours. Are you with me?