Milton Friedman died this past week from complications of being 94 (makes you think, as Kramer would say). Friedman was a towering figure (even though he was 5' 3") of the latter half of the twentieth century, earning the Nobel Prize in 1976. The co-founder of the "Chicago School" of economics, Friedman advocated a free market solution in extremis. We will of course examine his ideas, and observe a moment in honor of the passing of a great contributor to the world of ideas. A good appreciation is here, and another one here, but you have to read this before you respond. Also an excellent 1975 interview from the archives, and a song from the Milton Friedman Choir!
4 comments:
Probably the biggest factor in Friedman being able to shift economic philosophy away from that of Keynes and more to his liking was because of his persuasive skill. His ability to convince policy makers to rule in favor of his free-market ideology instead of more Keynesian policies was so remarkable that it changed the face of the economics world. He was great at collecting evidence to further his arguments and established the power of monetary policy over budgetary policy in shaping an economy. He pushed for free markets and his opposition to fixed exchange rates has determined their flexibility in the American economy and has facilitated global trade. His argumentative skill helped make his new ideas become a standard in economics.
I enjoyed reading this article about Milton Friendman, he seemed to be a very interesting man, so i actually went onto wikipedia and learned that he was the one that brought back interesr in the quantity theory of money, which has an equation that finds the velocity of money. Also I want to say that he looks a lot like Larry David (creator of seinfeld, and Curb your enthusiasm)
I have pretty much fell in love with Milton Friedman; too bad he’s a guy, and an old dead guy at that. Anyhow, I am thoroughly convinced that he was a genius, or at least someone who is sensible and a clear thinker, most likely a little of both. From his advised policies and economic principles to his social morals and values, and his motives as a thinker and a “public philosopher”, Friedman seems like a very respectable and intelligent person to me. I haven’t found any points that I would disagree with him on. I found his interview very interesting, and his thought process and responses to be very crisp, thoughtful, informative, and reasonable, something that is rarely found in an interview. Maybe the choir was a little bit silly, but as a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed spending my past hour learning about Milton Friedman.
You two make a great match. Best wishes.
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