Not much attention to Milton Friedman's death. But I personally found the timing quite ironic, given how neo-conservative foreign policy is being discredited. Friedman represented another "neo", that of "neo-classical economics". And hopefully, this other "neo" will become history. Unfortunately, its adoption by the governing right (Reagan, Bush, etc.) has already had dire consequences.
As an economist, he led the response to Keynes' push for an active role in government to manage economic cycles---which is what Roosevelt did by using government money to get us out of the depression. But in policy, Friedman is most known for his skewing of Adam Smith's "invisible hand". He believed that markets are the answer to everything and government is the answer to nothing. But it's another aspect of his ideology that has caused even more harm and, ironically, may be the main reason why his "government is the answer to nothing" position has been constantly udermined. Friedman believed that the only thing firms should care about is profitability. Any decision should be made to increase net income or "the bottom line". This is actually very different from Adam Smith's views on the importance of moral behavior among firms. It means that firms shouldn't act to help the environment, help worker conditions, help the community around them, unless it positively impacted the bottom line.
Unfortunately, this has been the dogma among many business leaders and MBAs. It's the combination of unregulated market activity, the lack of attention to multiple stakeholders, and the anonymity of the marketplace that has led to many negative impacts from corporations, from Nestle to Enron to the destruction of the global environment. And it has, ironically, led to greater pushes for "controling firms" on the Left.
Wouldn't it be an entirely different world if we could reconcile the benefits of free markets with the importance of corporate responsibility? Then one of Friedman's goals, that of lowering government influence, could actually be realized.
So I wish that Friedman rests in peace. I also wish his ideas about corporate ethics go with him.