‘We believe that Judaism supports the free markets’
Mountain Lakes couple hosts a confab in Israel on Milton Friedman
+ enlarge image
Frayda and Ken Levy with Corinne Sauer, center, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies.
Photo courtesy Frayda and Kenneth Levy
Advertisements
March 7, 2012
Fervent believers in the free-market philosophy of Rutgers-trained economist Milton Friedman, Frayda and Kenneth Levy of Mountain Lakes are hosting a conference in Israel in honor of what would have been Friedman’s 100th birthday.
Supporters of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ and free-market think tanks like the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and Americans for Prosperity, the Levys believe Israel needs to hear Friedman’s message of minimal government and maximal individual liberty.
The Levys are also supporters of the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, which is sponsoring the conference, “Economic Liberty & Religion: A Match Made in Heaven?,” at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem from May 20 to 24.
Speakers will include Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute; Corinne and Robert Sauer, coauthors of Judaism, Markets, and Capitalism: Separating Myth from Reality; Iddo Netanyahu, physician, playwright, and brother of the prime minister; and Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad.
Kenneth Levy, cofounder and partner in Jacobs Levy Equity Management of Florham Park, along with business partner Bruce Jacobs of Morristown, another supporter of UJC MetroWest, recently made a $12 million gift to the Wharton School of Business to form the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research.
Frayda Levy owned and managed a book distribution business and cofounded the Moving Picture Institute, which produces and promotes films from a libertarian perspective. She spoke about the conference in a telephone interview with NJ Jewish News.
NJJN: Why are you holding the conference in Jerusalem?
Frayda Levy: We wanted to find a great way to celebrate [Milton Friedman’s 100th] birthday, and what better way than in Israel? He was a supporter of Israel. We also want to bring attention to the fact that Israel is not a free-market economy and how much more prosperous it could be. A lot of religious people ought to understand their religion very much depends on a free-market economy if it is going to flourish.
NJJN: What about the notions in Judaism and Christianity and other religions about caring for the poor?
Levy: Is the best way to do it by creating entitlement programs and breeding generations of dependency, or by private charity? And there would not be the need for charity if you had a much more prosperous society.
We can all live at $10,000 a year. We can have equality. Would that be better than if some people have billions, some people have millions, some people have $100,000, some people have $50,000? Equality is not our goal. We can all live at $10,000 a year, but I don’t think it would be a great world.
NJJN: What is the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies?
Levy: It is a pro-free market think tank. One of the misnomers about what is going on in Israel is that a lot of the economic ills are the results of capitalism. In fact, Israel probably has one of the worst of what we call ‘crony capitalist’ systems in the world. Seven families basically control its economy. That is not the capitalism we believe in.
NJJN: How would you compare what you call ‘crony capitalism’ in Israel with the capitalism in the United States?
Levy: Unfortunately, we are starting to look more and more like Israel. Israel is rated as one of the least economically free countries. A lot of land there is still owned by the government.
NJJN: How do you explain the Israeli tent cities that were formed last summer to protest high food and housing prices? Weren’t the protesters’ grievances the result of Israel’s capitalist structure?
Levy: How is it capitalism when the industries they are complaining about are heavily controlled by government?
NJJN: What would happen if they were deregulated?
Levy: Look at what happened with our computer industry. See all the innovations you saw with telephones. Look at all the kinds of food we can buy here. You can buy organic. You can buy vegetarian. You can buy vegan. You can buy really expensive food. You can buy really cheap food. And mind you, we have heavy government intervention in agriculture in our economy, and we believe it would be even better without all these subsidies.
NJJN: Is there a Jewish component to your political and economic philosophy?
Levy: We do believe that Judaism supports free-market economics, but to be honest, I am not that religious. I am more of a cultural Jew. But I look at the amazing Jewish community centers built in this country and the nice synagogues, and one of the things I realized is that without economic liberty, we would not exist. Economic liberty creates wealth. People are very generous with their wealth. They gave away amazing amounts of money. Jews are philanthropic in the United States. Jews are not philanthropic in Israel.
NJJN: Why not?
Levy: Because Israel is a socialistic country. They have a socialist mentality, which is the government will do it. The philanthropic mindset comes from a free-market civil society.
NJJN: If you could write a prescription for changing Israel’s economy, what would it be?
Levy: Obviously, open up the markets. The tax on products coming into Israel is horrible. Everything is so expensive. Don’t subsidize industries. Sell off the government land. Kibbutzim just breed mediocrity.
NJJN: Are you optimistic about changes in Israel along the lines you advocate?
Levy: I am not an optimistic person.
Comments
Bennett Muraskin
March 08, 2012
If Israel is a socialistic country now, what was it in the 1950s! Israel is clearly suffering from too much inequality and poverty because business interests—in cahoots with government—are running amok.
“Crony capitalism” is the only kind of capitalism that exists in the real world. One person’s “friends” are another person’s “cronies.”
Big business will use its wealth to gain special favors from government and government will serve its interests. Business and government are intertwined in any modern capitalist economy. What is needed to ensure some degree of social justice is countervailing power from organized labor, from consumers, from the poor, from the middle class etc. to ensure that the their interests are also represented. A strong public sector must exist to keep private businesses from dominating the entire society. In sum—a mixed economy.
Where are the Jewish sources that endorse a “free market” economy? They do not exist. Neither are there Jewish sources that endorse a socialist economy.
But the idea that a “free market” economy as envisioned by Friedman—which really means that private business interests have freedom to screw the rest of us—can create a health society that cares for all of its members is anathem to Jewish tradition.
Enforcable regulations, laws and standards to ensure that those without great wealth are not abused and exploited by those who do, is more consisent with Jewish tradition than the dog eat dog capitalism.
Jeremy, Son of David
March 08, 2012
I have to strongly disagree with Mr. Muraskin. First on the account that there is no Jewish source that endorses a particular kind of economy. The Torah itself sets up a system of food distribution to ensure that there are no people going *hungry* in Israel. The Torah also requires its adherents to live within their means (do not reap to the edge of your field or go over it twice, but leave the remainder for the truly needy), and to do business ethically (maintain honest scales and measurements), and to establish court systems in which those feeling slighted can seek justice (the Torah requires its adherents to be impartial on the basis of wealth and status).
Putting it all together, one can see that THE Jewish source endorses a system where individuals engage in mutually-agreeable trade ethically and responsibly, with a working justice system regulating misbehavior and a safety net in place for the truly needy. Crony Capitalism may be the only kind in existence, but free market advocates like the Levys are longing for a world in which free market economies thrive.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that a market free from government interference would allow companies to “screw the rest of us”. In fact, it is government interference that ensures the strong remain privileged and the competition remains impotent. Without the government’s help, companies who screw over their customers would lose business to the other guy hungry for the almighty shekel. Additionally, the court systems exist to ensure that the strong cannot take from the weak, or infringe on his/her rights and/or personal property. We do not need redundancy in the form of government regulation in which violators merely work the fines into their budget and use their legislator friends to strong-arm the little guy while remaining immune to rebuke.
The Levys (correctly) see the prosperity of Israel in the freeingof her markets. Incidentally, the Torah agrees.
Bennett Muraskin
March 08, 2012
I was not even talking about the Torah, but the Talmud, which is the basis of rabbinic Judaism, but the Torah calls for property redistribution every 50 years. Does that sound like free market economics???
If so, where do I sign up?
Elisheva Navarro
March 13, 2012
There is none such a thing in the Torah and neither in the Talmud. Talmud and TOrah contens full of principles for helpand charity for poors people. That IS THE BASE of a Human!!!
Why to talk about religion to reach your goal: to change human jewish mentality for more money for the rich people who will become more rich. Why a business man (CEO) who earns by month 100.000 $ does not redistribute and have equal salary like his workers? Why do you think the a worker must have less money than the chief??? it is in the Torah that every shekel must be share with the community. The world is dying because of capitalism!!!!
You must think also of all the people who are unable to work because they suffered from their childhood and because not everybody can face this horrible life of exploitation!!!
The capitalism is here to exploit more and more the poors people… We have experience and we all know that. Go back to United states and stop bothering people with your stupid devil thinking! Go and stop working and studythe torah more in details… how a jewish cultural woman can talk to religious people: she even does not grow up with al thhe precept of the Torah! I am a child from survivor of the Shoah, what do you know about this people? How we suffer all our life and we are even not capable to work correctly…because all the bosses want rentability and not listening to their employees and why rentability because it is incease their salary! do you think it isnormal that a ceo can buy avery expensive car and not his worker???do you think it is normal that rich people in united states can be cure and the poor can die because they do not have the money for their health??? USA is dying now and I wish it is going on and their dirty mentality will disappear for ever of the planet!!! we need more justice and more redistribution!!!
Moshe Yanovskiy
March 17, 2012
Great! Just found new great Talmud scholar among the commentators! Seriously, sure Jewish tradition strongly supports every essential thing needed to promote free market: very strong private property defence, due process of law in the independent court, success and wealth legitimization (wealth and rich man - is God’s decision and choice and rich man obliged to our Lord not to our liberals). Private charity is strongly supported too, but private not state run, pay attention. The only exception - the case of unclear border between state initiative and purely private giving one could find in Torah when God informed the people through Moses about some projects”. I hope noone here pretends to be great prophet?