Best smackdown of Friedman ever

[Iwillnevergiveup]

http://crooksandliars.com/richard-rj-eskow/tom-friedman-new-ayn-rand-dark-di


Richard Eskow does a brilliant job of taking down Friedman's Sunday column - the one which truly exemplifies what a privileged, out of touch moustachio'd world he lives in.

##snip##

"Ayn Rand with a human face ...

Friedman occupies a unique place in the pundit ecosystem. From his perch at the New York Times, he idealizes the unregulated, winner-take-all economy of the Internet and while overlooking human, real-world concerns. His misplaced faith in a digitized "free" market reflects the solipsistic libertarianism of a technological über-class which stares into the rich diversity of human experience and sees only its own reflection staring back.

Friedman is a closet Ayn Rand in many ways, but he gives Rand's ugly and exploitative philosophy a pseudo-intellectual, liberal-friendly feel-good gloss. He turns her harsh industrial metal music into melodious easy listening: John Galt meets John Denver. That make him very useful to those who would dismantle the engines of real economic growth, the ones which create jobs while protecting life and limb.

Friedman's column in this weekend's New York Times is, characteristically, a Panglossian panegyric to online technology as the salve for all economic problems. In it he paints the picture of a global dystopia where decent jobs are scarce, educational advancement is unattainable, and people must sacrifice their homes, their possessions, and their personal lives to serve and amuse complete strangers.

He can hardly wait."

##snip##

[Iwillnevergiveup]

1. Besides imagining himself to be

knowledgeable and prophetic, he also figures he's clever. He is none of these, and actually does great harm to the advancement of our country. Not to mention, he irritates the hell out of me.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. Friedman is an excellent example of American idiocy!

He is without a doubt one of America's highest paid morons.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

3. When "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" came out

I remember reading he described himself at a book signing as "a travel agent with attitude." Guess we can't say we weren't warned.

[Populist_Prole]

4. Pithy post: Well said

Especially since he's the de-facto poster boy for the ideology and worldview I hate with the heat of superheated lava.

[reusrename]

5. It's a good smacdown, for sure, but it doesn't unseat my all-time favorite.

http://fair.org/take-action/media-advisories/tom-friedmans-flexible-deadlines/