Milton Friedman, a giant among giants, died today. He wasn't just a brilliant economist who pushed the benefits of the marketplace and understood the the connection between economic freedom and political freedom:
As a libertarian, Mr. Friedman advocated legalizing drugs and generally opposed public education and the state's power to license doctors, automobile drivers and others. He was criticized for those views, but he stood by them, arguing that prohibiting, regulating or licensing human behavior either does not work or creates inefficient bureaucracies.
Mr. Friedman insisted that unimpeded private competition produced better results than government systems. “Try talking French with someone who studied it in public school,” he argued, “then with a Berlitz graduate.”
Once, when accused of going overboard in his anti-statism, he said, “In every generation, there's got to be somebody who goes the whole way, and that's why I believe as I do.”
Comments
Friedman's market-based economics provided a the antidote to the insane economics of John Maynard Keynes.
Milton Friedman was instrumental in inspiring me to become a reluctant politician, and a recent Libertarian Party candidate. His courage to stand up against the fad of Marxist and Keynesian economics made it clear that I could also stand against the political parties (both of them) who do Keynes' work today.