The original 1980 10 part Free To Choose series is packaged as this centennial collection of 12 newly mastered DVDs. This collection contains many memories of the life Milton and Rose lived together, and the powerful ideas that resulted from that relationship:
The original 10 part Free To Choose series, remastered with English, Spanish, and Portuguese audio, and English subtitles.
Episode 1 – “The Power of the Market” – America's freedom and prosperity derive from the combination of the idea of human liberty in America's Declaration of Independence with the idea of economic freedom in Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. Friedman explains how markets and voluntary exchange organize activity and enable people to improve their lives. He also explains the price system. Friedman visits Hong Kong, U.S., and Scotland. Discussion participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Michael Harrington, Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee; Milton Friedman; Russell Peterson, Governor of Delaware, 1969-1973; Robert Galvin, Chairman, Motorola, Inc.; Congressman Barber B. Conable, Jr., Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Congress. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 2 – “The Tyranny of Control” – Government planning and detailed control of economic activity lessen productive innovation and consumer choice. Good, better, best, are replaced by ''approved'' or ''authorized.'' Friedman shows how 'established' industries or methods seek government protection or subsidization in their attempts to stop or limit product improvements which they don't control. Friedman visits India, Japan, and U.S. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Richard Deason, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Donald Rumsfeld, President, G.D. Searle & Company; Helen Hughes, Director of Economic Studies, World Bank; Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor of Economics, MIT. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 3 – “Anatomy of Crisis” – The Great Depression has been popularly viewed as a failure of capitalism. The stock market crash, the failure of the Bank of the United States, loss of personal savings, were visible symbols supporting this belief. As Friedman explains, the real cause was the unseen failure of government policy and action. Yet this crisis resulting from government failure leads to decades of government expansion. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Robert Lekachman, Professor of Economics, City University, New York; Nicholas Von Hoffman, Syndicated Columnist; Peter Temin, Professor of Economics, MIT; Peter Jay, British Ambassador to the United States, 1977-1979. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 4 – “From Cradle to Grave” – The welfare state arises from the attempt to do good with other people's money. Such attempts always fail because nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as his own. Welfare is supply-driven. Those spending the money use force to collect it and to ensure those receiving it use it for ''right'' purposes. Good intentions are corrupted by bad means. Friedman visits the U.S. and Britain. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; James R. Dumpson, Chief Administrator, Human Resources Admin., NYC; Thomas Sowell, Professor of Economics, UCLA; Robert Lampman, Professor of Economics, Institute of Poverty; Helen Bohen O'Bannon, Secretary of Welfare, State of Pennsylvania. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 5 – “Created Equal” – The Declaration of Independence says, ''all men are created equal.'' Friedman explains that this did not mean all persons should or will have equal talents or income. Equal opportunity to better one's self, and the right to personally benefit from the gains realized, are consistent with freedom. Equality of results requires force. Taking from some to give to others destroys freedom and removes the incentive for creating new wealth. Friedman visits India, the U.S., and Britain. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Frances Fox Piven, British Ambassador to the United States, 1977-1979; Thomas Sowell, Professor of Economics, UCLA. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 6 – “What's Wrong with Our Schools?” – Parental choice and parental responsibility in the education of children is the U.S. tradition and is consistent with a free society. Centralized government control has eroded freedom and adversely affected the quality of education. The poor help pay for education for the future rich. Friedman has long advocated using vouchers to solve the problem. He explains why. Friedman visits the U.S. and Britain. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Albert Shanker, President, American Federation of Teachers; Professor John Coons, Initiative for Family Choice in Education, California; Thomas A. Shannon, Executive Director, National School Boards Association; Gregory Anrig, Commissioner of Dept. of Education in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 7 – “Who Protects the Consumer?” – Various government agencies have been created on the claim that they will protect the consumer. These agencies restrict freedom, stifle beneficial innovation, and become agents for the industries or groups they are intended to regulate. Friedman explains how the apparent chaos of the marketplace, the competition of many suppliers for business, is the best protection of consumer interests. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Kathleen O'Reilly, Consumer Federation of America; Richard Landau, Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago; Joan Claybrook, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Robert Crandall, Brookings Institute. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 8 – “Who Protects the Worker?” – Unions sometimes protect some workers – their members – but usually at the expense of other workers. Government protects its employees and special groups of workers at the expense of other workers. Both unions and government restrict freedom. Friedman explains how the competition of employers for the talents of workers leads to the highest wages and best working conditions. Discussion Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Lynn Williams, International Secretary, United Steel Workers of America; Walter Williams, Professor of Economics, Temple University; Ernest Green, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.; William H. Brady, President, W. H. Brady Co. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 9 – “How To Cure Inflation” – Inflation results when the amount of money printed or coined increases faster than the creation of new goods and services. Money is a ''token'' of the wealth of a nation. If more tokens are created than new wealth, it takes more tokens to buy the same goods. Friedman explains why politicians like inflation, and why wage and price controls are not solutions to the problem. Friedman visits Japan, the U.S., and Britain. Key Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Congressman Clarence J. Brown; William M. Martin, Chairman of Federal Reserve 1951-1970; Beryl W. Sprinkel, Executive Vice-President, Harris Bank, Chicago; Otmar Emminger, President, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt West Germany. © 1980 / 57 min.
Episode 10 – “How To Stay Free” – Democracies have only recently been considered desirable. Historically, it was feared that democracies always self-destruct when citizens, forgetting that you cannot remove want and misery through legislation, insist on government actions that physically and morally bankrupt their nation. Friedman explains why the United States has so far avoided this outcome and how we can continue to do so. This program includes an interview with Dr. Friedman by Lawrence E. Spivak. © 1980 / 57 min.
I Remember a collection of special stories from those who knew Milton and Rose best, people like former Secretary of State George Shultz and Nobel Prize laureate Gary Becker.
Two public television specials:
Tyranny of the Status Quo – Dr. Friedman contends that "everywhere, whether in the United States, Great Britain, France, or Germany, a new administration has just about six months to make major changes that will benefit the community at large. ... Unless the occupant of [the White House], Republican or Democrat, makes such changes in the first few months after being elected or reelected, the tyranny of the status quo will assert itself and prevent further change." Milton is joined by seven young adults (Richard Vigilante, Harry Crocker, Gary Jenkins, Lee Liberman, Steve Calabresi, David Brooks, Carola Mone) to explore the role of government as an agent for social change. Three half-hour programs entitled, consecutively, “Beneficiaries,” “Bureaucrats,” and “Politicians.” ©1984 3/30 min
The Three Letter Word: TAX – Hosted by Wall Street Week's Louis Rukeyser, The Three Letter Word: TAX – Is a Balanced Budget Amendment the Answer? is a documentary/debate exploring the controversy surrounding the proposed constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget. As basic as managing any family's budget... as complex as any issue that has ever come before Congress... the balanced budget/tax limitation amendment supported by many – opposed by many others – in Congress and out. Watch as Milton Friedman, senators, congressmen, lobbyists, and others debate this timely issue: Should there be a constitutional limit on government's ability to tax – and to spend – our money? Then decide how you feel. ©1984
The PRC Forum: Milton Friedman, in which Dr. Friedman urges alertness to the difference between false and real problems concerning government and additional behind-the-scenes or never before seen footage.