Friedman and McNally's Perspectives on Capitalism
Friedman and McNally are great economists which have had a significant impact on the society. Both economists advocate for freedom in the society with minimal or no government intervention and control, but their difference comes along from their perspective.
McNally's Perspective
McNally, who is a writer, takes into account the matter of individualism basis and insists on the need and the importance of capitalism as a right of individual. On the other hand, Friedman, who is an economist, puts an emphasis on the economic perspective by arguing that capitalism is an important aspect concerning political freedom and welfare of the society.
McNally recognizes capitalism as a system that is based on the appreciation of people's rights and properties that are owned privately. According to him, individual freedom is attained through realization of rights. On the other hand, Friedman's definition of capitalism is based on a competitive capitalism stating that private enterprises should voluntarily exchange economy in a private society.
Friedman's Perspective
Friedman's perspective of freedom relates to Ursula Le Guin's fictional story The Dispossessed. Le Guin in her story talks about a society - A-Io - which provides a lot of goods at high prices, and grants market freedom and abundant luxury by the capitalist market (La Guin, 2011). Additionally, A-Io is government-less society. People in A-Io society like Shevek, who is a professor, enjoy working with fewer restrictions, economic security, and earn a 7X salary; this is the freedom that Friedman's ideology supports. Friedman looks at freedom in an extreme ideology through an economic perspective that if two people are in need of something, they can exchange, and then they should do it voluntarily. However, the society has a belief that there is a barrier between such exchanges imposed by the government through politics. Friedman's perspective is that the government puts restrictions on people's freedom of conducting business and trading or banning any product they want whomever they want at anytime (Friedman, 1962).
McNally's Opposition
McNally opposes Friedman's ideology on freedom by arguing that society is a social place where every individual can pursue whatever they want to. Additionally, he believes that taxation is a form of contribution to the society towards the improvement of its welfare. McNally also believes in diversity both in economic growth and among the individuals. From this diversity, markets can be located anywhere they can and this idea promotes a healthy competition by ensuring that local markets can compete with larger markets for economic welfare.
Further, McNally's view on capitalism is that it is a way of manipulating the labor market in order to gain wealth meaning that capitalism is just beneficial theoretically but practically, it only favors one side. On the contrary, as much capitalism is an exploitative tool, it is still important in advancing the society. Hence, there should be ways of regulating it which in this case is the government.
Conclusion
Nonetheless, it is critical to note the difference in perspectives of McNally and Friedman regarding capitalism. McNally's argument of capitalism stems from an individual point of view is that the most crucial survival tactic of an individual is through property ownership, and that can only be achieved through individualism. A set mind that acts rationally works on its own without external influence thus to guard individuals shrewdness, it is important to engage an industrialist society to protect an individual from external forces that will cause a distraction (McNally, 1990).
In summary, both Friedman's and McNally's views of capitalism are based on individual freedom and private ownership, but their characteristics of capitalism differ from the fact that McNally sees capitalism as a way of individualism promotion, while Friedman's understanding is that capitalism is a means of coordinating socio-economical activities and protection of political freedom.
References
Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and freedom. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Le Guin, U. (2011). The dispossessed. (5th Ed.). New York, NY: HAPPER Voyager.
McNally, D. (1990). Political economy and the rise of capitalism: A reinterpretation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
