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(Reblogged from jayaprada)
Friedman’s mission, like Cameron’s, rested on a dream of reaching back to a state of “natural” health, when all was in balance, before human interferences created distorting patterns. Where Cameron dreamed of returning the human mind to that pristine state, Friedman dreamed of depatterning societies, of returning them to a state of pure capitalism, cleansed of all interruption —government regulations, trade barriers and entrenched interests. Also like Cameron, Friedman believed that when the economy is highly distorted, the only way to reach that prelapsarian state was to deliberately inflict painful shocks: only “bitter medicine” could clear those distortions and
bad patterns out of the way. Cameron used electricity to inflict his shocks; Friedman’s tool of choice was policy—the shock treatment approach he urged on bold politicians for countries in distress. Unlike Cameron, however, who was able to instantly apply his pet theories on his unwitting patients,
Friedman would need two decades and several twists and turns of history before he too got the chance to put his dreams of radical erasure and creation into action in the real world.
bad patterns out of the way. Cameron used electricity to inflict his shocks; Friedman’s tool of choice was policy—the shock treatment approach he urged on bold politicians for countries in distress. Unlike Cameron, however, who was able to instantly apply his pet theories on his unwitting patients,
Friedman would need two decades and several twists and turns of history before he too got the chance to put his dreams of radical erasure and creation into action in the real world.
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, The Other Doctor Shock: Milton Friedman and the Search for a Laissez-Faire Laboratory page 50 (via arielnietzsche)
