Introduction
The article analyzes Milton Friedman’s concept of the “tyranny of control,” highlighting its relevance in contemporary economies, specifically through the examples of France and Israel. Friedman’s critique, originally aimed at central planning, proves equally sharp regarding subtle forms of state intervention, such as tariffs, price regulations, or expansive welfare systems. The author argues that excessive control, even when motivated by noble intentions, leads to the restriction of individual liberty and, paradoxically, the production of dependency. A comparative analysis of the French and Israeli models shows how different approaches to the state-market relationship affect social and economic dynamics, raising questions about the limits of state intervention in the context of global capital mobility and digital transformation. The article challenges traditional understandings of equality, proposing a focus on equality of opportunity and access to tools that multiply human capabilities.
The Tyranny of Control: A Friedmanite Barrier to Freedom
Modern tyranny of control does not require a state of emergency; it develops gradually through tariffs, licenses, and occupational regulations. Friedman notes that every such interference destroys the price mechanism, which serves a crucial communicative function. Price is a claim to the truth about the scarcity of goods—freezing it from above disrupts the rational coordination of the actions of millions of people.
Analyzing public spending, the Friedmans introduce a matrix of four ways to spend money. The welfare state operates in the least efficient category: a bureaucrat spending someone else’s money on a third party. This leads to a diffusion of responsibility and a weakening of feedback loops, which is the foundation of waste in bureaucratic systems.
The Price Mechanism: The Free Market's Information System
A comparison of the French and Israeli models reveals two faces of interventionism. France, with the highest social spending, has created a system where the welfare state becomes a “secular religion” but also a dependency factory. Israel, though rooted in statism, pivoted toward deregulating the technology sector while maintaining control only in strategic areas.
The pursuit of equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity requires a powerful arbiter. This gives rise to the “aporia of the modern conscience”: the mechanism intended to level inequalities creates a new, privileged caste of bureaucrats managing redistribution. In this way, the welfare state legitimizes systemic control, offering security in exchange for the surrender of civic autonomy.
The Welfare State: A Factory of Citizen Dependency
In the age of algorithms and digital currencies (CBDCs), the tyranny of control gains new tools for the micro-management of transactions. This is accompanied by inflation—a hidden tax draining savings, described as the “alcoholism” of a state avoiding reform. These systems are destabilized by the mobility of elites, who can escape fiscalism, leaving the costs of redistribution to less mobile citizens.
Within the individual, a conflict of roles between worker and consumer intensifies. As a worker, one demands protection; as a consumer, low prices. This illusion of harmony is impossible to sustain without generating debt. A solution that supports autonomy is transparency of rules, such as a negative income tax, which replaces the thicket of discretionary benefits with a simple, predictable partnership with the state.
Conclusion
In the pursuit of security and equality, are we surrendering too much control to invisible algorithms and institutions? Does the promise of comfort and stability become a trap, locking us in a digital panopticon? Perhaps true freedom lies in the ability to ask questions for which the system has no ready-made answers.
📄 Full analysis available in PDF