http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD0dmRJ0oWg More here: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/true-conspiracy-the-ford-pinto-memorandum.html "Ford was fully aware of all these construction problems. However, people didn't know that until Mother Jones magazine published a stolen copy of an infamous memo that was sent out to all senior management at the Ford Motor Company." "Ford continued to build and market the Pinto without modifications until news of the memo broke. It led to criminal charges, an avalanche of lawsuits, and a recall of all Pintos; the mess went on for years. Not to mention the fact that Ford got some of the worst press an American car company has ever received. Later studies indicated that the Pinto may not have been any more prone to blowing up on contact than any other car, but by that time, the damage was done." Where was Friedman's model flawed and what's the solution here? He obviosly didn't take into account that Fiat's little secret can turn to light. My solution? Have no secrets and open source everything! That may be a little bit too drastic and not fit the current economy but certainly interesting! If I recall correctly, Stephan Kinsella talks broadly about the topic.
I remember watching that youtube a few months back. (just an FYI, I'm pretty sure they're saying "Young Michael Moore" like you might say "Young Karl Marx" - it's not really Michael Moore in the video).
But "Moore's" problem, as Friedman pointed out, is that his objection was only to the dollar amount the executives had assigned to each human life - he wasn't specifically criticizing the concept, just the price they picked.
And Friedman's point - which I agree with - is that the free market decides what level of safety it will pay for. If a car is unsafe and the seller does not disclose this fact, they would (and should!) be sued in the extreme by whoever falls victim to its poor manufacture as well as be prosecuted for fraud.
Thanks for your input!