COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM: LOOK BEYOND THE LABEL

摘要

Milton Friedman began his classic book, Capitalism and Freedom, by citing the famous words from President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." Friedman complained that people spent too much time inquiring into the origin of the famous phrase and not enough on its substance. He then argued that neither half of the statement expressed a worthy relation between the state and its citizens. He said that the first part suggested that the government was the patron and the citizen the ward, whereas the second implied that the government was the master and the citizen the servant.