The TV sitcom M*A*S*H has been described as television’s finest half‐hour. The 1972–1983 series, set at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital near the front lines of the 1950–1953 Korean War, blends black comedy and wartime/medical drama to both entertain and stir the sentiments of viewers.
Over at Liberty Fund’s Econlog blog, I’ve been arguing that M*A*S*H does something else: champion classical liberal principles. From opposition to war, to skepticism of government power, to support of economic freedom, to advocacy of other civil liberties such as free speech and respect for the individual, the show has much to offer libertarians and other classical liberals.
Liberty Fund initially published my M*A*S*H essay in a series of installments. Now it is available as a single essay on the organization’s Library of Economics and Liberty website. If you’d like to read it, you can find it here.