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 Image
Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
We measure poverty by what I believe is a very, very crude concept. We actually measure poverty by trying to get some… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Plato assumes somehow that government is a way in which you put unselfish and ungreedy men in charge of selfish and greedy… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Whenever we depart from voluntary cooperation and try to do good by using force, the bad moral value of force triumphs over… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Central bankers always try to avoid their last big mistake. So every time there's the threat of a contraction in the economy,… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
If even a small fraction of the money we now spend on trying to enforce drug prohibition were devoted to treatment and… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
If we have system in which government is in a position to give large favor - it's human nature to try to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Whenever you try to do good with someone else's money, you are committed to using force. How can you do good with… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
If the government is to try and ban private consumption of alcohol and tobacco, it must surely ban such activities as hang-gliding,… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem. — 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 Image
To really understand something you've got to reduce it to its principles. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
