What was Milton Friedman's position on global warming (w/ a source)?

Question

I'm beginning to really like Friedman and his ideas, but it would just burst my bubble if I found out he denied global warming. I NEED A SOURCE, NOT OPINION OR UNVERIFIED HEARSAY!

Answer 1

I don't know his view on GW, but I can say that if he believed that we were the main cause, then he would have surely argued for a free market based approach to global warming.

Edit:

J.S.,

I am fairly certain that Friedman is arguing that social responsibility for the sake of social responsibility isn't in the company's best interest--binding constraints and all that. In the case of GW, if the threat is potential, and the consumer demands it (which they currently do), then sustainable practices are likely in the corporation's, and shareholder's, best interest.

Any corporation that doesn't hop on board the sustainable train will be left in the dust.

Answer 2

I doubt that he had one.

Answer 3

Milton Friedman and the Social Responsibility of Business

http://www.greenbiz.com/feature/2006/11/...

"...economist Milton Friedman argued that businesses' sole purpose is to generate profit for shareholders. Moreover, he maintained, companies that did adopt "responsible" attitudes would be faced with more binding constraints than companies that did not, rendering them less competitive."

The flaw in this logic with respect to global warming is that the current irresponsibility that we're talking about could kill all companies along with their customers, so surely Milton would concede that his hypothesis assumes a fundamental stability in the system that may not hold true.

Answer 4

Being a tool for the multinationals, he would definitely be for the global warming scheme if he were still alive.  (But he'd probably pretend to be against it like Bush, Limbaugh, and Big Oil, all the while quietly reaping profits from it from country to country.)

Only a crisis--actual or perceived--produces real change.  When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around."

--Milton Friedman

Who benefits? And who is hurt from this scheme?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fi...