A native Minnesotan, Friedman is a foreign correspondent and columnist for the Times and the author of The Lexus and the Olive Tree, an influential study of the pros and cons of globalization and a great introduction to the topic. This essay can be found in the Nobel Conference Program or by searching the New York Times Archives. Com May 2, 2000. The Washington Post , December 1999. The view of rationality in economics is unethical.
Rationality is identified with self-interest.
Concern for fairness and for upbuilding community is not viewed as rational within the system. The result is that the more people are affected by the study of dominant forms of economic theory, the less they are likely to be interested in fairness, in community wellbeing, and even in honesty. Unfortunately, an increasing portion of the business community has been socialized into thinking in economic ways. This also weakens the market, which depends for its healthy functioning on the integrity of the players. As individuals are increasingly persuaded that rationality consists in private self-interest, the firms that employ them suffer as well.