Milton Friedman was a Nobel prize winning economist, and one of the major scholars that helped to formulate the principles of the “chicago school” view of economics. His 1980′s PBS TV series and subsequent book “Free To Choose” exhorts the practice of free markets, and serves as a great introduction to Friedman and his ideas.
I’ve just started watching and I believe its produced really well – the format is divided between classic story line documentary in the first 30 minutes and then academic debate with critics in the second 30 minutes. You get a vivid picture of his ideas working in the real world and also opposing views and Friedman’s response to them. My understanding of economics is not comprehensive enough to form a critical opinion of his ideas, but I can tell from the debates and how Friedman argues, that he’s formed quite a rigorous and sophisticated view of his economic ideas. He speaks carefully, and often times you must realize what he has chosen not to say is as important as what he’s explicitly stated. You’ll see that a few of his critics do not hold themselves to the same standards and argue pretty sloppily and with imprecise language. In that sense, I find the series extra valuable for the demonstration of how to think clearly and effectively use thought-experiments to prove/disprove ideas.
A very cool and informative resource. All the episodes can be found here: http://www.freetochoose.tv/
