Mark Ames — When Congress Busted Milton Friedman (And Libertarianism Was Created By Big Business Lobbyists)

I hate to stir up a fire storm (wink, wink) but here it is. Definitely a bombshell, if the author has the facts correct, and I see no reason to doubt that he does. As always, follow the money.

The author exaggerates the origin of libertarianism and libertarianism in the US. Libertarianism left and right had a long history in Europe before it migrated to the US.

However, the author is correct in the narrow sense of Libertarianism in the US being organized and funded as a political lobby in the 1950's. But it is also not true that all who identified with Libertarianism (libertarianism of the right) were involved in the business conspiracy or took money "under the table," even if they were fellow-travelers in other ways. It is possible that some did not even know about the organized effort, but it would have required blinders not to see.

In fairness, too, to many that self-identify as Libertarians, it must be acknowledged that many Libertarians do not consider Milton Friedman a Libertarian but rather a neo-liberal. I agree that the author does not pay enough attention to this distinction. At the same time, Friedman did self-identify as libertarian: "My philosophy is clearly libertarian." — Milton Friedman in Reason magazine (June 1995)

nsfwcorp.com
When Congress Busted Milton Friedman (And Libertarianism Was Created By Big Business Lobbyists)
by Mark Ames
(h/t John Zelnicker in the comments)