--- title: "4 Cooperation Quotes By Milton Friedman" description: "4 Cooperation quotes by Milton Friedman. Plus more from Milton Friedman and more Cooperation sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/milton-friedman-616_capitalism_the-essential-notion-of-a-capitalist-soc_480119.png" --- > [The essential notion of a capitalist society ... is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. The essential notion of a socialist society is force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-essential-notion-of-a-capitalist-society-is-voluntary-cooperation/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/milton-friedman-616_capitalism_the-essential-notion-of-a-capitalist-soc_480119.png) > [Whenever we depart from voluntary cooperation and try to do good by using force, the bad moral value of force triumphs over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/whenever-we-depart-from-voluntary-cooperation-and-try-to-do-good-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38c/milton-friedman-616_cooperation_whenever-we-depart-from-voluntary-cooper_1562745.jpg) > [Adam Smith's key insight was that both parties to an exchange can benefit and that, so long as cooperation is strictly voluntary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/adam-smith-s-key-insight-was-that-both-parties-to-an-exchange-can/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/milton-friedman-616_adam_adam-smith-s-key-insight-was-that-both-p_1634082.png) > [Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/fundamentally-there-are-only-two-ways-of-coordinating-the-economic/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a60/milton-friedman-616_activity_fundamentally-there-are-only-two-ways-of_2539659.png) ## Other authors on Cooperation - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-vladimir-putin-94037.jpg) Vladimir Putin 19 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/vladimir-putin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-barack-obama-16275.jpg) Barack Obama 16 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/barack-obama/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-william-j-clinton-95571.jpg) William J. Clinton 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/william-j-clinton/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-ludwig-von-mises-61872.jpg) Ludwig von Mises 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/ludwig-von-mises/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-mahatma-gandhi-62675.jpg) Mahatma Gandhi 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/mahatma-gandhi/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-bryant-mcgill-108.jpg) Bryant McGill 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/bryant-mcgill/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gary-zukav-37072.jpg) Gary Zukav 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/gary-zukav/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bashar-alassad-16604.jpg) Bashar al-Assad 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/bashar-al-assad/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-franklin-d-roosevelt-35911.jpg) Franklin D. Roosevelt 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/franklin-d-roosevelt/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bertrand-russell-17477.jpg) Bertrand Russell 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/bertrand-russell/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b003/author-albert-einstein-10494.jpg) Albert Einstein 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/albert-einstein/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-yuval-noah-harari-100.jpg) Yuval Noah Harari 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Milton Friedman > [The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-government-solution-to-a-problem-is-usually-as-bad-as-the-problem/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [I believe the role that people like myself have played in the transformation of public opinion has been by persistently presenting a different point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/i-believe-the-role-that-people-like-myself-have-played-in-the/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [To really understand something you've got to reduce it to its principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/to-really-understand-something-you-ve-got-to-reduce-it-to-its/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [It is a mark of how far we have gone on the road to serfdom that government allocation and rationing of oil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/it-is-a-mark-of-how-far-we-have-gone-on-the-road-to-serfdom-that/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“The people in one district can choose not to reelect their member of Congress, but that will not change the composition of the government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-people-in-one-district-can-choose-not-to-reelect-their-member-of/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [When you have a time of crisis what happens depends on what ideas are floating around, and what ideas have been developed, and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/when-you-have-a-time-of-crisis-what-happens-depends-on-what-ideas-are/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [The government doesn't have any money. The only power it has is to take from some and give to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-government-doesn-t-have-any-money-the-only-power-it-has-is-to/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [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?!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/what-would-the-people-who-sold-us-goods-do-with-the-money-they-d-get/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [World trade depends on differences among countries, not similarities. Different countries are in different stages of development. It is appropriate for them to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/world-trade-depends-on-differences-among-countries-not-similarities/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/is-there-some-society-you-know-of-that-doesn-t-run-on-greed-you-think/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/well-first-of-all-tell-me-is-there-some-society-you-know-of-that/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [I think almost every economist would agree that government gets itself in trouble when it tries to interfere with voluntary behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/i-think-almost-every-economist-would-agree-that-government-gets/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [It is most attractive about the US to people and countries with wealth is that it can provide security, insurance really, against political instability.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/it-is-most-attractive-about-the-us-to-people-and-countries-with/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Hong Kong is the bellwether. If the Chinese stick to their agreement to let Hong Kong go its own path, then China will also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/hong-kong-is-the-bellwether-if-the-chinese-stick-to-their-agreement/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/milton-friedman/#itemlist", "name": "4 Cooperation Quotes By Milton Friedman", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The essential notion of a capitalist society ... is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. 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