Milton Friedman

1912–2006

Milton Friedman (1912-2006) was the twentieth century’s most influential economist and the greatest intellectual defender of free-market capitalism and individual economic liberty. A professor at the University of Chicago, Friedman developed rigorous economic arguments demonstrating the superiority of market solutions to government intervention. His “Monetary History of the United States” transformed understanding of the Great Depression, showing how Federal Reserve policy had deepened rather than ameliorated the crisis. His consumption function rewrote macroeconomic theory. Beyond technical economics, Friedman proved that arguments for capitalism need not rely on narrow self-interest but could be grounded in human freedom and individual liberty. Friedman’s…