--- title: "3 Economists Quotes By Milton Friedman" description: "3 Economists quotes by Milton Friedman. Plus more from Milton Friedman and more Economists sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/milton-friedman-616_censorship_i-cannot-disagree-with-you-that-having-s_1328827.png" --- > [I cannot disagree with you that having something like 500 economists is extremely unhealthy. As you say, it is not conducive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/i-cannot-disagree-with-you-that-having-something-like-500-economists/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/milton-friedman-616_censorship_i-cannot-disagree-with-you-that-having-s_1328827.png) > [Economists may not know how to run the economy, but they know how to create shortages or gluts simply by regulating prices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economists-may-not-know-how-to-run-the-economy-but-they-know-how-to/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/milton-friedman-616_economics_economists-may-not-know-how-to-run-the-e_2752769.png) > [Thanks to economists, all of us, from the days of Adam Smith and before right down to the present, tariffs are perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/thanks-to-economists-all-of-us-from-the-days-of-adam-smith-and-before/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/milton-friedman-616_adam_thanks-to-economists-all-of-us-from-the_3138328.png) ## Other authors on Economists - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-thaler-78929.jpg) Richard Thaler 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/richard-thaler/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-kenneth-galbraith-51720.jpg) John Kenneth Galbraith 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/john-kenneth-galbraith/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-thomas-piketty-90556.jpg) Thomas Piketty 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/thomas-piketty/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-hajoon-chang-40025.jpg) Ha-Joon Chang 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/ha-joon-chang/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-aretaeus-of-cappadocia-14539.jpg) Adam Davidson 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/adam-davidson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-maynard-keynes-51905.jpg) John Maynard Keynes 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/john-maynard-keynes/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-tim-harford-90885.jpg) Tim Harford 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/tim-harford/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-ronald-coase-81073.jpg) Ronald Coase 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/ronald-coase/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-paul-krugman-74013.jpg) Paul Krugman 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/paul-krugman/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-ludwig-von-mises-61872.jpg) Ludwig von Mises 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/ludwig-von-mises/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b015/author-kenneth-e-boulding-56467.jpg) Kenneth E. Boulding 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/kenneth-e-boulding/) ## 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/economists/milton-friedman/#itemlist", "name": "3 Economists Quotes By Milton Friedman", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cannot disagree with you that having something like 500 economists is extremely unhealthy. As you say, it is not conducive to independent, objective research. You and I know there has been censorship of the material published. 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