Milton Friedman and the Cold War, 1950-1968 : McCarthyism, Foreign Aid, and the Soviet Economy

The paper considers Milton Friedman’s interventions in U.S. public debate in the period from 1950 to 1968 on matters related to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Following a discussion of Friedman’s general posture regarding the U.S./USSR conflict, three specific topics are considered: the McCarthy anti-Communist campaign (which Friedman deemed an inappropriate response by the U.S. authorities, particularly in its attempt to restrict private-sector employment opportunities for suspected Communists), foreign economic aid to developing economies (which Friedman considered to be a counterproductive device for the United States to deploy in the Cold War), and Soviet economic performance (which Friedman, contrary to much professional opinion during the 1950s, but consistent with many retrospective assessments, judged to be poor)