Friedman: It’s a 401(k) World

[Yavin4]

14. Precisely. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were a lot of boom and bust

cycles. The worst coming in the 1930s. The entire world was poor and extremist ideologies and leaders littered the entire globe. After WWII, the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Western Europe learned that in order to avoid extremist ideologies and leaders, it would be best to offer the people some protections from the vagaries of capitalism.

State pensions, social security, unemployment benefits, single payer health care, public education, social welfare, etc. all offered a measure of protection from the bust cycles that are common with capitalism. In exchange, Western Europe has been at peace with each other for decades, and Japan has been docile since WWII.