Don’t get cocky, Tea Partiers: we’ve been here before.

So I’m reading Milton and Rose Friedman’s “Free to Choose” because it’s one of those books everybody says you should read, and I come across this passage:

The United States remains a predominantly free country – one of the freest major countries in the world. However, in the words of Abraham Lincoln’s famous “House Divided” speech, “A house divided against itself cannot stand…I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.” He was talking about human slavery. His prophetic words apply equally to government intervention into the economy. Were it to go much further, our divided house would fall on the collectivist side. Fortunately, evidence grows that the public is recognizing the danger and is determined to stop and reverse the trend toward ever bigger government.

“Free to Choose” was published in 1979.

UPDATE – Linked at Creative Minority Report.