Liberty Quotes by Milton Friedman

The excuse for the destruction of liberty is always the plea of necessary ' that there is no alternative

— Milton Friedman

There's nothing that does so much harm as good intentions.

— Milton Friedman

Political freedom means the absence of coercion of a man by his fellow men.

— Milton Friedman

Whenever we depart from voluntary cooperation and try to do good by using force, the bad moral value of force triumphs over…

— Milton Friedman

The essential notion of a capitalist society ... is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. The essential notion of a socialist society is force.

— Milton Friedman

If the only motive was to help people who could not afford education, advocates of government involvement would have simply proposed tuition…

— Milton Friedman

Freedom in economic arrangements is itself a component of freedom broadly understood, so economic freedom is an end in itself ... Economic…

— Milton Friedman

Political leaders in capitalist countries who cheer the collapse of socialism in other countries continue to favor socialist solutions in their own.…

— Milton Friedman

Adam Smith's key insight was that both parties to an exchange can benefit and that, so long as cooperation is strictly voluntary,…

— Milton Friedman

A society based on the freedom to choose is better than a society based on the principles of socialism, communism and coercion.

— Milton Friedman

Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction,…

— Milton Friedman

A society that aims for equality before liberty will end up with neither equality nor liberty. And a society that aims first…

— Milton Friedman

Every friend of freedom must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed…

— Milton Friedman

Consider Social Security. The young have always contributed to the support of the old. Earlier, the young helped their own parents out…

— Milton Friedman

Self-interest is not myopic selfishness. It is whatever it is that interests the participants, whatever they value, whatever goals they pursue. The…

— Milton Friedman

The high rate of unemployment among teenagers, and especially black teenagers, is both a scandal and a serious source of social unrest.…

— Milton Friedman

The preservation of liberty, not the promotion of efficiency, is the primary justification for private property. Efficiency is a happy, though not…

— Milton Friedman

Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion…

— Milton Friedman

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

The power to determine the quantity of money... is too important, too pervasive, to be exercised by a few people, however public-spirited,…

— Milton Friedman

When a man spends his own money to buy something for himself, he is very careful about how much he spends and…

— Milton Friedman

I'm not in favor of no government. You do need a government. But by doing so many things that the government has…

— Milton Friedman

The proper role of government is exactly what John Stuart Mill said in the middle of the nineteenth century in On Liberty.…

— Milton Friedman