History
Björn Görder
Milton Friedmans Freiheitsverständnis
Systematische Rekonstruktion und wirtschaftsethische Diskussion
[Milton Friedman's Understanding of Freedom. A Systematic Reconstruction in Relation to Economic Ethics.]
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Published in German.
Milton Friedman polarizes. He regards the »freedom to starve« to be the ultimate social goal which can be made by society and rejects the idea that businesses should be socially responsible. Björn Görder analyzes Friedman's negative concept of freedom in the context of its epistemological and anthropological assumptions and illustrates its political consequences. The author then goes on to discuss Friedman's normative theory of freedom with references to philosophical, theological and empirical approaches. Affirming Friedman's commitment for individual self-determination, he develops his own theory of freedom. His central claim, based on anthropological reasoning, is: that a more enhanced concept of freedom is required if people really are to be able to lead a self-determined life.