Milton Friedman
Champion of free markets and monetary policy
Most quoted
"The great virtue of a free market system is that it does not care what color people are; it does not care what their religion is; it only cares whether they can produce something you want to buy. It is the most effective system we have discovered to enable people who hate one another to deal with one another and help one another."
— from Speech, 1979
"The long-range solution [to high unemployment] is to increase the incentive for ordinary people to save, invest, work, and employ others. We make it costly for employers to employ people, and we subsidize people not to go to work. We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork."
— from Book, 1980
"The government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government tries to do more than this, it creates problems."
— from Interview/Speech
All quotes by Milton Friedman (290)
The government's role is to enforce the rules of the game, not to play the game itself.
The only way to achieve economic growth is through free enterprise and competition.
The most important thing is to have a society where individuals are free to pursue their own interests.
The free market is a powerful force for good in the world.
The government should not be in the business of controlling prices or wages.
The most important thing is to have a government that respects the rights of its citizens.
The free market is a system of continuous adaptation and innovation.
The only way to achieve a prosperous society is through individual freedom and responsibility.
The government has three primary functions: to protect us from foreign enemies, to protect us from ourselves, and to protect us from each other.
The only way that you can have a free society is if you have a free market.
Government is a way of doing things. It's not a source of goods and services.
The problem is not that people are too selfish; the problem is that government is too powerful.
The only way to get rid of a bad law is to pass a worse one.
The most important thing about government is that it's a monopoly.
The great virtue of a free market is that it permits an extraordinary degree of diversity.
The only way to have a free and prosperous society is to have a limited government.
The case for free enterprise is not that it is perfect, but that it is the best we have discovered so far.
The only way to avoid the tyranny of the majority is to have a strong protection of individual rights.
The only way to achieve real equality is to have equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome.
The most important thing about government is that it's a necessary evil.
Contemporaries of Milton Friedman
Other Economicss born within 50 years of Milton Friedman (1912–2006).