Comments (13)

• Bob Roddis

  I remember seeing this 16 mm film at a libertarian group meeting in East Lansing, Michigan in the mid-seventies. I just knew that it would almost instantaneously lead to us to taking over the world in a few months.

  Published: June 15, 2009 3:39 PM

• David Spellman

  This compliments Mr. Oliva's post about the innocent police officer who runs stop signs and kills young women in the interest of collecting revenue for the government. What an amazing society we live in. :).

  Published: June 15, 2009 9:07 PM

• Jorge Besada

  Seeing former Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon, reminded me of his book "A Time for Truth"(I believe it was mostly ghostwritten by a libertarian lady) where referring to the financial crisis of the 70s he mentions :

  “The Wall Street Journal interviewed several dozen of the most prominent economists in the United States on the causes of the recession and on ways to prevent a recurrence. They disagreed about virtually everything save this: that there was much economists did not yet understand. The details of the economists’ ignorance are of interest, but I stress here the overriding conclusion to be drawn from their statements: The economists who had been advising our Presidents simply had not known what they were doing”

  “…Gerson Green, formerly of the Office of Economic Opportunity, summed up the attitude of many of his colleagues when he observed caustically, “The change I discern is that none of us knows what to do. In those days, we thought we did. The country has taught the social engineers a lesson.”… So who was running the store? The answer is: nobody. Not one human being in the whole vast realm of political control over the American economy has ever known what he was doing…For forty years the American ship of state has been lunging erratically toward economic disaster, with no awareness of its direction…”
  

  Published: June 15, 2009 10:37 PM

• Michael Vogt

  I forgot how good Milton Friedman is when he's denouncing bureaucrats, eminent domain, tariffs, social security, the FDA, government policy being responsible for so many monopolies, and other regulations interfering with free enterprise. Keep him away from monetary policy, neighborhood effects, and the negative income tax, and the odds are good that I'll enjoy listening to him.

  Published: June 16, 2009 12:06 AM

• Justin

  Rothbard's discussion at 20 minutes in reminded of this articel from just a few days ago:

  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5516536/US-cities-may-have-to-be-bulldozed-in-order-to-survive.html

  Published: June 16, 2009 2:29 AM

• Robin

  Yes, Milton Friedman is really really eloquent and verbally rapes every socialist that comes in his way.

  I like him.

  Published: June 16, 2009 4:12 AM

• Richard Garner

  Excellent, I have this on CD and tried to put it on YouTube but was not technically savy enough.

  Published: June 16, 2009 4:58 AM

• Richard Garner

  Isn't that Roy Childs sitting in front of Rothbard, too?

  Published: June 16, 2009 5:25 AM

• C

  I remember this as a teen in the 70's. My parents bought the book for all of the family, and the film for our local high school. They hoped to provide a counter argument for the politically correct nonsense being spouted in the schools. It was a powerful message (especially the book), that has stuck with me for four decades.

  I had forgotten about the film version. I have been trying to get my 13 yo son to read the book, but the YouTube version is much more up his alley!

  Thanks for finding this and bringing it to our attention again!

  Published: June 16, 2009 9:34 AM

• Treg

  Jorge-- What is the name of the libertarian lady who ghostwrote William Simon's book?

  When I first saw this movie, it was in full color. Why is this in black and white? Or is my memory at fault?

  Richard, is your CD version in color? If so, get it over to me and I will help you post it up to YouTube. Then everyone can watch it.

  Nice memories watching this film. It was radical in the way they shared the camera back and forth. Today that is still "way cool". How is Susan Love Brown today? I wonder how her daughter Christa turned out...

  treg@landtobuy.com

  Published: June 16, 2009 12:23 PM

• DS

  This is like the anti - "free to be, you and me"

  - come on, if you were in elementary school in the 70's you know what I'm talking about.

  Published: June 16, 2009 7:24 PM

• Anthony Flood

  The young balding man sitting next to William is Karl Keating, Catholic apologist, editor of This Rock magazine, author of Catholicism versus Fundamentalism.

  The controlled demolition footage in the film Rothbard is commenting on can be compared to that of WTC 1, 2, and 7 on 9/11.

  Published: June 16, 2009 9:22 PM

• wm

  Were there a few inspired, connected libertarians with cinematic/acting/production skills to re-incarnate "The Incredible Bread Machine", they could easily launch a firestorm of enthusiasm and tea-party courage. "The IBM" handily tops any of the many politically focused films I have viewed over the past three decades.--wm

  Published: June 29, 2009 1:26 PM