Milton Friedman quotes

Milton Friedman, an influential economist and Nobel laureate, revolutionized modern economic thought. With his strong belief in free markets and limited government intervention, Friedman advocated for individual freedom and personal responsibility. His groundbreaking book, "Free to Choose," continues to inspire and influence policymakers around the globe. As a prominent figure in the Chicago School of Economics, Friedman's principles continue to shape economic policies worldwide. Dive into the world of Milton Friedman and discover the transformative power of his ideas.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

- Milton Friedman

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.

- Milton Friedman

He moves fastest who moves alone.

- Milton Friedman

Anybody who was easily converted was not worth converting.

- Milton Friedman

A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.

- Milton Friedman

We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork.

- Milton Friedman

One man's opportunism is another man's statesmanship.

- Milton Friedman

Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.

- Milton Friedman

The greatest advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government.

- Milton Friedman

Is it really true that political self-interest is nobler somehow than economic self-interest?

- Milton Friedman

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

- Milton Friedman

And what does reward virtue? You think the communist commissar rewards virtue? You think a Hitler rewards virtue? You think, excuse me, if you'll pardon me, American presidents reward virtue? Do they choose their appointees on the basis of the virtue of the people appointed or on the basis of their political clout?

- Milton Friedman

The power to do good is also the power to do harm.

- Milton Friedman

Every friend of freedom must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp, by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users and of an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence.

- Milton Friedman

The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.

- Milton Friedman

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

- Milton Friedman

Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government.

- Milton Friedman

The world runs on individuals pursuing their self interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn't construct his theory under order from a, from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn't revolutionize the automobile industry that way.

- Milton Friedman

A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.

- Milton Friedman

History suggests that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition.

- Milton Friedman

Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.

- Milton Friedman

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.

- Milton Friedman

Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.

- Milton Friedman

So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear. That there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.

- Milton Friedman

The black market was a way of getting around government controls. It was a way of enabling the free market to work. It was a way of opening up, enabling people.

- Milton Friedman

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.

- Milton Friedman

I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal.

- Milton Friedman

Well first of all, tell me, is there some society you know of that doesn't run on greed? You think Russia doesn't run on greed? You think China doesn't run on greed? What is greed?

- Milton Friedman

The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm, capitalism is that kind of a system.

- Milton Friedman

Columbus did not seek a new route to the Indies in response to a majority directive.

- Milton Friedman