The global financial crisis has battered the image of several icons of free enterprise and now one of the biggest proponents of laissez-faire economics is under attack – Milton Friedman.[/p] More than 100 faculty at the University of Chicago, where Mr. Friedman won the 1976 Nobel Prize in economics, are trying to stop the university from putting Mr. Friedman's name on a $200-million (U.S.) research centre. The opponents argue that the Milton Friedman Institute would compromise the academic integrity of the university and serve as a monument to Mr. Friedman's world outlook, which they say has largely been discredited. [/p] "He was the darling of the Reaganite revolution and the American right," said Bruce Lincoln, a professor of the history of religions who is leading the charge against the institute. "He was a scathing critic of the state playing a role of any importance." If the institute goes ahead, Prof. Lincoln said it will attract "a certain kind of donor who is a great cheerleader for Friedman's politics," and that donor will try to "steer research in a direction that's going to advance the cause." He said the recent turmoil has bolstered opponents. "It's now a whole lot more obvious to everyone that [Mr. Friedman] got us into some problems and that he didn't have the final solution to everything that makes an economy work."[/p] Mr. Friedman, who died in 2006, championed minimal regulation and free markets. His approach, dubbed the "Chicago School," influenced governments around the world.[/p][a href="vny!://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081021.wrbanksfriedman22/BNStory/Business/home"]vny!://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081021.wrbanksfriedman22/BNStory/Business/home[/a][/p]
[/p]In the words of the right wing Jesus:[/p]I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. - Saint Reagan the IV Chapter
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