Milton Friedman is the godfather of modern conservative economics. A Nobel-prize winner, his ideas informed what is called the Chicago School. He laid the groundwork for Reagan-era neoliberalism with his landmark essay, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits.” That’s pretty straightforward. Make as much money as you can. Society? It can take care of itself. In the decades since Friedman’s influential essay, concentrated monopoly corporate power has evolved into corporatism. What is it? Ralph Nader describes it as “the commercialization of just about everything at the expense of our civilization’s civic, spiritual, health, and safety values. It is crushing our democracy and corrupting our elections.” Interviewed by David Barsamian