Professor relates progress, morality

A Harvard economist believes that the progress of American morality and the strength of democracy is highly correlated to economic progress.

Benjamin Friedman, author of The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, told attendees at a lecture yesterday that Americans are most likely to act in accordance with moral values when they feel they are making economic progress, regardless of income level itself.

"When people know that they are getting ahead and they're able to look forward to sustained progress, society will make progress in terms of democracy, tolerance and fairness," Friedman said.

If his hypothesis is correct, Friedman said developing countries with income levels far below that of the United States can obtain a sense of economic progress without actually catching up with the American economy.

In particular, Friedman said that he expects the rapid growth of income in China in the past 30 years to lead to increased Chinese liberalization and the demise of the one-party military dictatorship.

Friedman also said that when periods of economic stagnation occur, "some of the most basic values of society are at risk."

He explained that in 2004 the income of the average American household failed to keep up with inflation for the fifth year in a row, which has fueled anti-immigration sentiment in the United states.

Friedman went on to stress the importance of public policy in delivering a faster rate of moral growth than the market can provide on its own.

"There's no way that individual actors in the market will take [morality] into account," Friedman said. "The market will underprovide economic growth [that leads to] fairness, tolerance and democracy if left alone."

Friedman's speech was sponsored by the Global Interdependence Center, a group committed to expanding free trade.

Friedman spoke to a crowd which was populated by few undergraduate students.

The GIC "is a tremendous local organization that systematically communicates hope through economic initiative and I'm inspired by that," said Maury Watze, a graduate student in the School of Organizational Dynamics.

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