Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
When you argue for free markets, you are arguing against the trend. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The great virtue of a free market is that it enables people who hate each other, or who are from vastly different… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The free market is not only a more efficient decision maker than even the wisest central planning body, but even more important,… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The only reason free markets have a ghost of a chance is that they are so much more efficient than any other… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The argument for the free market is a complicated and sophisticated one and depends on demonstration of secondary effects. I have confidence… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market.… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The great advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science or literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The black market was a way of getting around government controls. It was a way of enabling the free market to work.… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
. . I think the Adam Smith role was played in this cycle i.e. the late twentieth century collapse of socialism in… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own. Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he uses… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
"Free markets" is a very general term. There are all sorts of problems that will emerge. Free markets work best when the… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
“A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
What most people really object to when they object to a free market is that it is so hard for them to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
“Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction,… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The economic miracle that has been the United States was not produced by socialized enterprises, by government-unon-industry cartels or by centralized economic… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
“Because we live in a largely free society, we tend to forget how limited is the span of time and the part… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
“When unions get higher wages for their members by restricting entry into an occupation, those higher wages are at the expense of… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The broader and more influential organisations of businessmen have acted to undermine the basic foundation of the free market system they purport… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I know of no example in time or place of a society that has been marked by a large measure of political… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The great virtue of a free market system is that it does not care what color people are; it does not care… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government. On the contrary, government is essential both… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I believe the role that people like myself have played in the transformation of public opinion has been by persistently presenting a different point… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
To really understand something you've got to reduce it to its principles. — Milton Friedman Copy Share
It is a mark of how far we have gone on the road to serfdom that government allocation and rationing of oil is the… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
“The people in one district can choose not to reelect their member of Congress, but that will not change the composition of the government… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
When you have a time of crisis what happens depends on what ideas are floating around, and what ideas have been developed, and thought… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
The government doesn't have any money. The only power it has is to take from some and give to others. — Milton Friedman Copy Share
What would the people who sold us goods do with the money? They'd get dollars. What would they do with the dollars? Eat them?! — Milton Friedman Copy Share
World trade depends on differences among countries, not similarities. Different countries are in different stages of development. It is appropriate for them to have… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
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… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
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… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
I think almost every economist would agree that government gets itself in trouble when it tries to interfere with voluntary behavior. — Milton Friedman Copy Share
It is most attractive about the US to people and countries with wealth is that it can provide security, insurance really, against political instability.… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
Hong Kong is the bellwether. If the Chinese stick to their agreement to let Hong Kong go its own path, then China will also… — Milton Friedman Copy Share
