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Harjeev Saini 218783308 TA: Trung Ngo AP/SOSC 1340 Mar 30, 2022 Does Capitalism Promote or Undermine Individual Freedom?

2 In a society where laws and regulations dictate what we can and cannot do, individual freedom is when we can choose what we want to believe and do. We need to take this into account when we live in a society where capitalism controls every aspect of our freedoms. It is dependent upon a state or nation's ability to achieve economic freedom that their economy will flourish. Moreover, Milton Friedman writes in his book, Capitalism and Freedom , that political freedom developed alongside the free market and capitalist institutions (1982, pp. 9-10). In considering their own freedoms, individuals must comprehend that their freedoms coincide with the economic and political freedoms of the state that they belong to. But nevertheless, I believe capitalism undermines one's freedom, rather than promoting it. Economics and the views they involve only have one job in a free society, which is to increase profits within the range of their influence. The main purpose of this paper is to compare Milton Friedman and David McNally's respective views on capitalism, individual freedom, and the relationship between them. Milton Friedman argues in the book, Capitalism and Freedom , that competition boosts individuals' freedom, which in turn helps society thrive. “A working model of a society organized through voluntary exchange is a free private enterprise exchange economy – what we have been calling competitive capitalism” (Friedman, 1982, p. 13). Friedman states that capitalism exists in a society for the benefit of people to be able to own their own wages and live their own lives. Also, in his explanation, capitalism is characterized by voluntary exchange as a private enterprise. A business owner with personal freedom today, on the other hand, may refer to a small business owner or a small company owner, whereas some corporations abuse large numbers of employees

3 under horrific circumstances. Workers in such situations are often forced to pay bills and meet paycheck-to-paycheck requirements. Under capitalism, people are being treated as if they are slaves while under the belief in free will. Additionally, the government also interferes with people's freedom, Friedman believes, and rather than us being in control of our own lives, government does it for us. Additionally, there is nothing more fragile and rarer than freedom. Concentration of power poses the greatest challenge to freedom, and the past confirms this. To preserve our freedom, the government is an organization that allows us to do so; however, by concentration of power in political hands, it also threatens to endanger freedom. According to Friedman, there ought to be no barriers between two people who want to exchange things freely, but in our society, government allows those freedoms to be thwarted by international politics. Companies in capitalist societies are primarily concerned with increasing profits and increasing their wealth. A key principle of capitalism is that companies strive to increase profits by paying fewer wages to employees to increase profits. David McNally states in his book, Global Slump: The Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance, that “For the reality is that in these interactions "the flexible, downsized, mobile and contracted-out worker'' faces off against" a specialist in managing money-flows trying to maximize profits” (2011, p. 122). McNally is attempting to explain in this passage that capitalism is a way of life, in which social relations include more than mere exchange and production but are rooted in political views and ideologies as well. In addition, McNally also goes on to say that the capitalist market is a system of discipline. It establishes the foundation for contemporary work discipline by denying individuals access to means of existence other than money and the market. (McNally, 2011, p.

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4 113). What McNally is attempting to convey is that capitalism alters the dynamic of a society by infiltrating and altering individual freedom ideas. Workers are typically treated brutally in major organizations, where they are exploited into performing robotic tasks within the confines of the law and regulation. The beliefs of neoliberalism are congruent with those of capitalism since the works are employed to effectively promote the market. According to Birch’s, Business and Society. A Critical Introduction, Neoliberalism is defined as a “…political-economic system based on the idea that (free) market interactions – i.e., those with no or limited state or social intervention – are the most efficient way to organize the economy and to coordinate all social institutions” (Birch, Ch. 7). Essentially, neoliberalism is a policy model that combines politics and economics, with the goal of transferring economic authority from the government to the private sector. It advocates for minimal government intervention in economic matters. Although no government intervention may be beneficial for individual’s freedoms, it is also a drawback for the market and the economy. To explain, a popular neoliberal criticism is that advocating for a free market approach in sectors like health and education is wrong because these services are provided by the government. Profit motives are not as strong in the public sector as they are in other industries. More crucially, a free market approach to health and education can lead to increased inequality and underfunding of resources such as, health and education, that are critical to an economy's long-term health and survival. Inequality has been shown to rise because of neoliberal policy. This inequality can obstruct an economy's long-term economic prospects. Low-income people have restricted spending capacity on one end of the scale. At the same time, individuals who become wealthier have a greater

5 proclivity to save; in this situation, wealth does not flow down as neoliberal proponents believe. To summarize, even if no government intervention is acquired and there are no barriers between two people who want to exchange things freely, as explained by Friedman, neoliberalism will still take away people’s rights, which is an extension of their freedom. For example, as explained above, neoliberalism advocates for a free market approach, and a free market approach to health and education can lead to increased inequality and underfunding of resources such as, health and education. If these resources are not managed properly or if there is no public access to these resources, which is crucial to anyone, are we free? While utopian societies have many similarities to contemporary capitalism, there is still plenty to learn from them, particularly in terms of how capitalism takes away freedom from the individual. For example, production occurs behind closed doors in the factories. McNally refers to workers being displeased in the factory in this way. The workers must remain hidden behind closed doors, so the population cannot really see capitalism's secrets. Clearly this is an exchange of voluntary information taking place within a private enterprise system. Workers are in no way free in this case. Discipline, exploitation, and dispossession must be endured by the workers. In conclusion, capitalism has always been associated with freedom throughout history. Throughout capitalism, there is a lack of individual freedom, as workers have been mistreated within their work environments, resulting in a negative freedom. Though both authors have different views on how capitalism works, McNally's ideal of a free society is what we should strive toward. While Friedman professes some good ideas, his explanation of capitalism to promote individual freedom does not hold true to

6 society. As this passage demonstrates, capitalism is indifferent to an individual's freedom. Bibliography Friedman, M. 2010. “The Relation between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom” in Capitalism and Freedom (15-26). University of Chicago Press. McNally, D. (2011). “Chapter 5- Debt, Discipline, and Dispossession: Race, Class, and the Global Slump” in Global Slump (113-145). Fernwood Press. Birch, K et. Al (2017). “Chapter 7- Global Economy and Varieties of Capitalism”, Business and Society. A Critical Introduction . Zed Books. Birch, K et. Al (2017). “Chapter 2- The Spread of Capitalism”, Business and Society. A Critical Introduction. Zed Books Przeworski, A. 1985. Chapter 6 “Democratic Capitalism at a Crossroads” in Capitalism and Social Democracy (205-221). Cambridge University Press.

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