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person1946–2006

Milton Friedman

Disciplines:
economics
libertarianism
political theory/monetary theory

Summary

Milton Friedman was an American economist whose monetarism and advocacy for free markets made him the 20th century's most influential libertarian economist.

Core Contribution

Friedman argued that the quantity of money is the primary determinant of economic activity, that Keynesian fiscal policy is ineffective or counterproductive, and that voluntary exchange in free markets both maximizes prosperity and protects individual freedom — from school vouchers to floating exchange rates.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Only money matters (inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon — sustained inflation requires sustained money growth)
  • School vouchers (parental choice via vouchers will improve education through competition better than any top-down reform)
  • Permanent income hypothesis (consumption depends on expected lifetime income, not current income — transforming fiscal policy analysis)
  • Anti-paternalism (adults should be free to decide how to use their own money; Social Security and licensing laws are paternalist intrusions)

Notable Works & Achievements

A Monetary History of the United States

Capitalism and Freedom

A Theory of the Consumption Function

Free to Choose

Historical Influences

Friedrich Hayek Frank Knight Henry Simons

Intellectual Lineage

Chicago School of EconomicsAustrian economics Classical liberalism

Contemporaries & Peers

Friedrich Hayek Paul Samuelson John Kenneth Galbraith

Minds Influenced

Alan Greenspan Robert Lucas Margaret Thatcher Ronald Reagan

Intellectual Posterity

MonetarismNatural rate of unemploymentSchool voucher movementNegative income tax proposal

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