Milton Friedman has died

MILTON FRIEDMAN - ONE OF THE MOST ARTICULATE DEFENDERS OF FREE MARKET CAPITALISM - HAS DIED. 

His wisdom is captured in some of the quotations pasted below:

"Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program."

"Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation."

"Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government."

"Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own. Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he uses his own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness, if you want knowledge to be properly utilized, you have to do it through the means of private property."

"Government power must be dispersed. If government is to exercise power, better in the county than in the state, better in the state than in Washington. If I do not like what my local community does, be it in sewage disposal, or zoning, or schools, I can move to another local community, and though few may take this step, the mere possibility acts as a check. If I do not like what Washington imposes, I have few alternatives in this world of jealous nations."

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand."

“Most economic fallacies derive - from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.”

17/11 updates: Margaret Thatcher's tribute is recorded on Sky News and Iain Murray has written a must-read tribute on National Review Online.

18/11 update: Milton Friedman's writings for The Wall Street Journal.

Comments

[William Norton]

Friedman, Harris, Sherman.... talk about a changing of the guard.

Who takes their place now?

[Frank Young]

Dreadfully sad news, I genuine icon of free market capitalism.

[Ted]

Makes me feel really old - I studied economics at beginning of 70s as the last gasp Keynesians were folding in the struggle against the Chigaco School upstarts. The changing of the guard began a bit earlier though William - Hayek, Popper for instance in early 90's.

Wonder who the new generation will be and from which countries / continents? What will be the oppression/ideology they struggle against that forms their opinions?

[James Maskell]

Im a newcomer to economics and one of the first names I came across is Milton Friedman. He will be missed.

My feelings is that the Chicago School will fall by the wayside and a neo-Keynesian form of economics will come to the front. High levels of environmental taxation, government intervention...its a sign of a change in economic thinking...

[Sally Roberts]

...And so farewell to a titan! He will be missed.

[Ted]

James
Agree there are still elements of old John Maynard's thinking but Friedman and others did permanently change the terms - governments now manage by inflation/monetarist targets. But there are social and economic consequences - consider the consequences of the outsourcing of manufacture and IT development to China, India and others.

I do wonder if its to the East we will look for the next generation?

He achieved much in his life and work and deservedly should be remembered as a giant.

[Selsdon Man]

This is desperately sad news. Milton Friedman, through his "Free To Choose" television series and book, converted me into a radical libertarian whilst active in FCS.

After reading Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek and Murray Rothbard, I later rejected Friedman's Chicago School in favour of the Austrian School.

However, I am grateful to Friedman to introducing me to free market economics. I will drink a toast to his memory tonight.

RIP Milton, you will be sorely misssed.

[Steve]

A great loss.

The last quote above (re a fixed pie) is especially pertinent today given the apparent economic orthodoxy!

[Josh]

" If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand."

Classic!

"My feelings is that the Chicago School will fall by the wayside and a neo-Keynesian form of economics will come to the front. High levels of environmental taxation, government intervention...its a sign of a change in economic thinking..."

Maybe so, but it doesn't change the fact that Friedman was right where Keynes was wrong.

[Pratik Parekh]

"Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own. Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he uses his own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness, if you want knowledge to be properly utilised, you have to do it through the means of private property."

A great quote from one of the true greats of our time. His beliefs of private property, wealth and ownership modelled the Thatcher Government, and secured a strong and healthy economy. His ideas and the eloquence of the way in which they were delivered will be sorely missed.

[Tory Loyalist]

You are absolutely right Pratik. He will be sorely missed.

And now the exciting challenging idea culture of the Thatcher years has been replaced by precisely...

...nothing.

[ToMTom]

I studied economics at beginning of 70s as the last gasp Keynesians were folding in the struggle against the Chigaco School upstarts.

Pity you didn't read Keynes' Treatise on Money, but then again I do have a letter from Dr Friedman where he does not share your dissdain for Keynes, but recognises him as a brilliant economist.............what most students learn as "Keynesian" is in fact the work of Nicky Kaldor and Joan Robinson with some John Hicks.

Just pushing the Fisher Equation as an economic mantra is the type of crude thinking we get from politicians rather than economists. Currently I hear no Conservative protesting that house prices are inflating because of rapid expansion in the Money Supply - either in the US or Britain.............why is Inflation fine so long as it is in Property Prices ?

[Ted]

TomTom

the last gasp Keynesians were not JMK (which is I think your point) and todays economists don't follow Friedman. None had the 100% solution - Keynes provide solutions to the circumstances of his time, which resulted in some downsides - Friedman and others looked for solution to those - more downsides etc.

[James Maskell]

Josh, I wasnt denying that. I learnt my economics through free market thinkers. At the moment Im working my way through George Reisman's "Capitalism". Not an easy read at all, but a good challenge.