June 6, 2026 – Smith Hall at Harvard Hillel – Noon – Bring a pareve or dairy dish to share
Zoom Available (https://hebrewseniorlife.zoom.us/my/rabbijim)
Diversity — whatever that now means — has become a focal point for disagreement not only in American politics but in our society more broadly. What do we now mean by diversity? And is it a valid goal, at Harvard in particular?
Benjamin M. Friedman is the William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, and formerly Chairman of the Department of Economics, at Harvard University. Mr. Friedman’s books for a general audience include Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, a fundamental reassessment of the foundations of current-day economics showing how religious thinking has shaped economic thinking ever since the beginnings of modern Western economics and how this influence continues to be at work today especially in the United States, and The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, an explanation of how rising living standards foster positive developments in a society’s social, political and moral character.
In addition to these and other works for the general public, Dr. Friedman has written and/or edited eleven other books, and more than 175 articles in professional journals, aimed primarily at economists and economic policymakers. Much of this work has focused on economic policy, and in particular the role of the financial markets in shaping how monetary and fiscal policies affect overall economic activity. He has also been a frequent contributor to publications reaching a broader audience, including especially The New York Review of Books. Dr. Friedman is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.