He was a great man and a great econommist. We'll never see his like again.
In the last 25 years there have been only two (short and mild) recessions. In the previous 25 years there were six, and several of them quite severe.
The difference is in the one quarter century Milton Friedman was considered an eccentric. In the other, his way of thinking about the Quantity Theory dominated the Fed's thinking.
I will never forget the 2000 kilowatt smile I had after I read the first page of Capitalism and Freedom...that light will never go out. I send my condolences to you and your family.
Many, many years ago I knew you back in the ancient times when you and your wife were living temporarily in the Barony of Axemoor. I didn't know exactly who you were until well later in life... and only then did I learn about who you were and your father. I chanced this evening to look at the BBC news site, and saw the notice of his passing... we all walk the same paths, along the same roads, some leaving early and others staying until the end. Your father lived a long and successful life, and there is nothing to truly be sad over. Remember what was, and what he brought, never what could have been.
Just the other day, in Guatemala, when we had breakfast and talked about the vikings, your new novel, etc., I almost said: "Give my regards to you Dad--he is a great man, who has meant a lot to me." Now, I am sorry I did not, but it is no less true.
Best wishes to you & your family,
Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard
PS. Our Danish free-market blog has a tribute here: http://www.punditokraterne.dk/77763_Milton_Friedman_1912-2006_R.I.P.html
Your father may have had impossible shoes to fill, but at least in terms of continuing the spirit of creative thinking and free inquiry, you have certainly done so. Whenever I'm inclined to give a dogmatic answer, even one in defense of liberty, I try to step back and think to myself, "that's not how the Friedmans would do it." My condolences.
The same thing everyone else said. If I could achieve professionally the things that they can't fit in the tributes, I would consider it a very accomplished life; he was notable 50 years ago, but kept overshadowing himself. And yet it's the personality and the clear communication (which seems to have followed his Y chromosome) that made him dear to hearts of millions of us who never met him.
Your father was an inspiration and an intellectual role model for many of us whom he pointed in the direction of libertarianism and economics. My condolences to you and your family.
Thanks to everyone for the condolences and comments.
Dean's comment about the things that couldn't fit in the tributes reminded me of something I was thinking of today—the accomplishments outside of the ones he is known for.
described the superiority of the Chicago style workshop, where the participants are expected to read the paper in advance and the presenter to talk about it for not very long, rather than presenting it, over the more conventional approach. As best I can tell the Chicago style workshop was an invention of my father's.
Long ago I happened to be doing some statistical work, and discovered that my father had a statistical test named after him, a way of doing statistics on ordinal rather than cardinal values—just what, in that project, I needed.
I gather that he was in part responsible for a much more important statistical breakthrough, the idea of using the results of the first N tests to decide whether to do test N+1, instead of selecting the number of tests in advance.
And, of course, he was an extraordinary person, in more ways that I can describe.
The verse I posted here is from Havamal, as one responder noted. It is also the end of the final chapter of my novel. My protagonist was not literally patterned on anyone, but I think his personality owes more to my father than to anyone else.
Certainly a sad day. My heart goes out to you and your family, especially your mother. So many of us were his spiritual children. His influence shall live as long as man survives.
I'm very sorry to hear of your father's passing. I was a young man in the 1970s when I came across Capitalism and Freedom. It made so much sense and provided answers that my loving -- but liberal -- parents couldn't provide. Much of my worldview is due to Milton Friedman.
You have my condolences. May your father rest in peace. He is the man who truly ignited my interest in economics and spurred me study it here at the University of Chicago.
I am not an economist, although I am familiar with some of your father's work, and hold him in high esteem.
You once wrote about how, when you were a child, on a long train trip, your father gave you the choice of a sleeping berth, or the regular seat and the price difference in cash. (If I recall correctly, you said you took the cash.)
I thought that was the greatest thing I'd ever heard … can't really explain why. It's partly how even his children were free to choose, and how much paternalism, even literal paternalism, must have run against his grain. But mostly, what an intellectual adventure it must be to be around a person like that, a man who's so ... I guess logical and principled and always thinking, in a way that exceptionally smart people often are.
Since then, every time the name Milton Friedman is mentioned, in the newspaper, TV, or web, the first thing I think about is the train.
Condolences from all Hong Kong people to you and your family.
Last month, Milton wrote a piece about us. Just two weeks ago, he was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper about school voucher system and what it is not.
Milton will be remembered by all Hong Kong people, for his care to us, even at his very old age at 94.
Milton, may you rest in peace, have a nice chatter with Sir John James Cowperthwaite when you meet him in heaven.
MF changed my way of thinking about economics and politics. His visit to Australia in 1975 was memorable. He had an impact on intellectual life here as he did around the world. A great man.
I am a brand new student of economics and even I can appreciate the impact that Milton Friedman had on the world. My condolences to you and your family.
Dr. Friedman, you, your father, and your family have been great sources of inspiration to me, and, I know, to many classmates of mine here at George Mason. Thank you for your great spirit and ideas.
In Public Choice class today, I noted that while Professor Rowley did go out of his way to discuss and honor your father's work at the outset of the class, he needn't have; it came up later in the already-planned lecture.
"The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones" So let it NOT be with Milton Friedman. A gentle, wise voice of reason who proved to all of us that the pen will always be mightier than the sword was Milton Friedman. I never met him but always loved him like a grandfather.
Governments die, ideas are immortal. As long as freedom lives, Milton Friedman lives. Let us all honor his ever-living spirit by upholding the values of liberty and choice. Rest in peace, Milton Friedman, the world will never forget you.
My condolences to add to the chorus. One note - a previous commenter said we will never see his like again. I sincerely hope he is wrong. We truly need a few more.
Heartfelt condolences from London. Your father was a great inspiration for me, ever since I read "Capitalism and Freedom". I have since become more of a libertarian, but no doubt his books and his works helped to shape my way of thinking.
Condolences from Durham, England, to you and your family. Your father was a truly great man and I am proud that my home country, Sweden, payed him the respect he deserved by awarding him the Nobel Prize.
Condolences from Iceland. I just wrote some personal recollections on Milton Friedman for Morgunbladid, an Icelandic daily. He was a great man and an inspiration for the changes which we have implemented in Iceland. In his television debate with leading socialists in Iceland 31 August 1984 he shone, with all his customary brilliance.
He was easily one of the greatest minds of the 20th and 21st century. As such he affected people in many parts of the world, including me here in Newfoundland.
To all in your family, please accept my condolences and my prayers and my thanks for sharing this great man with the world. The world is a better place for it.
Please accept the heartfelt condolences of my brothers and me. We've posted a small tribute to your father on our group blog. He must have been a great teacher. His warmth and connection to his ideas came through in his books, his lectures, and his television appearances.
My deepest sympathies to you and your family. Your father will be missed, but I am extremely thankful for the long and wonderful life he lived. He was an inspiration.
My sincere condolences to you and your family. Your father was a great man whose wisdom and inspiration will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace knowing that you and many others are carrying the torch of liberty on its next lap.
I can remember hours when I was just delighted to watch archived videos of Milton giving various speeches at the Cato Institute. And the ski vacation where in the evening hours by the fire I read Free to Choose. The joy of opening the WSJ op-ed page to find that he had written a letter to the editor.
please accept my sincere condolences to you, your mother & the rest of your family from the foot of the Mont-Pélerin in the land of the Switzers.
Yesterday, I gave a talk at the university of Lausanne to a group of libertarian/conservative students. Pace Lenin, it was entitled "Anarchy last stage of libertarianism" (L'anarchie stade suprême du libéralisme ;o). On the blackboard I had written the names of those I consider the three greatest libertarians of the XXth century (Luwig von Mises [Lemberg 1881-New York 1973], Ayn Rand [St-Petersburg 1905-New York 1982] & Murray N. Rothbard [New York 1926-New York 1995]) as well as the names of the two most influential: Friedrich von Hayek [Vienna 1899-Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1992] & -of course- your father.
On the blackboard was written: Milton Friedman [New York 1912- ... ]
(Sigh)
At the end of the meeting, a lady came to me & asked me if I had heard of a Nobel-prize winning libertarian economist who was also a member of the Republican party & who had -recently she emphasized- written about a scheme to dismantle the welfare-state by "giving" each & every inhabitant of a country a living allowance from the government. I told her it was your father who had popularized this idea of a "negative income tax" & that she could read all about it in "Capitalism & Freedom" (1962) which was available in a french translation at the university library. I also told her about "Free to Choose" (1980) as well as your own "The Machinery of Freedom" (1973; 2nd ed. 1989) which are both also available in a french translation.
Truly your father's work lives on & the fight goes on!
Later in the evening, while driving back toward the Mont-Pèlerin, I was astonished to learn the sad news on Swiss public radio... As a tribute to your father, all alone in my car, I screamed: "Let's privatize Swiss public radio!" I thought it fitting & at least it would be a beginning... ;o)
If I were giving my speech today, I would have had to write on the blackboard: Milton Friedman [New York 1912-San Francisco 2006]
Rest in peace, comrade, the fight for truth, justice & the libertarian way of life goes on.
He will be missed so much. He was a beacon. No one championed freedom and free markets as effectively or vigorously as he did. No one taught the public as much about liberty. I met him only once and am sorry I did not get to know him.
My heartfelt condolences to the you and your family.
I once saw your parents at a U. of C. anniversary gala in San Francisco about 15 years ago. I still remember watching them whisk around the ballroom like two young newlyweds. The love between them was palpable.
Sometime in the seventies I saw an interview with your father on Danish TV. Never one to mince words or fail to be to the point, he answered in characteristic fashion, "Price and wage controls did not work for the Roman Empire, they did not work for the Nixon administration and, although I am not a scholar of the Danish economy, I can confidently say, they will not work for you either."
Sometime in the seventies I saw your father on Danish TV. Never one to mince words or fail to be to the point, he answered in characteristic fashion, "Wage and price controls did not work for the Roman Empire, they did not work for the Nixon administration, and although I am not a student of the Danish economy, I can confidently say, they will not work for you either." Your epitaph for him is most fitting.
Deyr fé, deyja frændur, deyr sjálfur ið sama. En orðstír deyr aldregi hveim er sér góðan getur.
Sincerest condolences from Iceland. I took the liberty to write up the original of your Hávamál piece, if you would like the it in your book. Again, sincerest condolences
Deyr fe, deyja fraendur deyr sjalfur hid sama en ordstyr deyr aldrey hveim er ser godan getur.
Your father was one of the greatest minds ever!!! Remembered along with Confusius, Cato, Caesar, Macchiavelli, Snorri, Churchill, Ropespierre, Socrates, Aristoteles, Plato and so on. Nothing less!!! We will always remember we will never forget him, the mentor of Tatcher and Reagan one of our greatest heroes. Yours Truly, Orri Bjornsson from Iceland.
Condolences from Massachusetts. If for no other achievement, I'd just like to say how impressive was your father's decades-long advocacy of school choice. That such a highly visible public intellectual would hammer at that unpopular issue so energetically and consistently means that today it's a mainstream idea. When so much human potential is ultimately liberated, we will have your father to thank. Clearly, he led an exemplary life, who instilled in so many a love of learning. May you continue the tradition.
What a sad day! I was skimming online newspapers and was surprised that there was a news article on Milton. As I was reading it a few paragraphs in, I realized that it was a tribute rather than a biographical piece (the title was not transparent).
I sat stunned on my chair, staring in disbelief at the computer screen. Only a few days ago I was watching some "Free to Choose" segments on YouTube and hoped to meet your father in person one day.
A sad day for economic science and the world. Hopefully, the reflection on his life will renew ideas of liberty that seem to have been forgotten in recent years.
I knew you and your family briefly in Axemoor many years ago. I was unfamiliar with your father and his teachings. Many words have been said praising him, he has had many many achievements. My comments are different. Among his many achievements, and perhaps his best, was his ability to have raised such a wonderful person as yourself.
I fondly remember you and your wife. I learned much about authenicity and not compromising from you.
Aye the world has lost a great man.
You, milord, have lost your father.
" You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like the seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling? For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."
dear David,my condolences to you and your family. Milton Friedman will live forever through his huge work. We will never forget the hero of free market. Sincerly yours
Milton Friedman was a man who inspired me, a young boy in one of the world's poorest country -Bangladesh to realise that end of the day the world is connected by its wealth. That mankind, if it is to survive, need to grow together independent of national or international control.
I recently watched some of Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" tv series. His smile and his excitement for liberty were wonderful to see. He has left a positive legacy for millions of people around the world. My condolences to you and your family.
Excluding the deaths of family members, I can't remember being as sad or as shaken up about someone's death to the extent that I was/am with Milton Friedman. Very few people have impacted my intellectual development--and, indeed, the direction I have taken in life--to the extent that he has.
He was a Champion. I`m so sorry...but show must go on. We won`t forget about him. Never. He was a great man,great economist. Another one condolences from Poland.
In watching Milton on various video appearances, I never got the impression that he was a distinguished Professor of Economics, a Nobel Prize winner, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, or whatever.
None of these things seemed to matter to Milton - they were ancilliary to his main objective of showing us how to help mankind.
And that is beauty of Milton's message of freedom. The logic behind it seems so simple once you understand it. With his style, I am sure Milton has managed to persuade many people of this. A great many more people than the average libertarian ever could.
Thankyou, Milton, for teaching me the power of economics and the dignity inherent in governments allowing us to live our own lives - free to choose.
I cannot really find words for what I want to say. My sincere condolences to you and your family. How gracious that there are people who inspire us like your father.
I would express my condolences to you and your family. Such a bereavement is actually a loss for those who - all over the world - supporting the economic and social freedom, try to carry on his spirit. thanks Federico Parmeggiani, reggio emilia, Italy
Count me among the many whose life was changed by the books "Capitalism and Freedom" and "Free to Choose."
To pick up on what Roland Patrick said above in an earlier comment ("In the last 25 years there have been only two (short and mild) recessions. In the previous 25 years there were six, and several of them quite severe"),
Many Americans probably don't realize how much we owe to Friedman. It seems like no one recalls that from 1975-1983 both inflation and unemployment averaged 7.7% (inflation has averaged just about 3% since 1983-unemployment averaged 5.75% in the 1990s and 5.11% since 2000). His ideas helped get the FED to concentrate more on fighting inflation. This has helped the economy in the long run and we have all benefited.
My own memories of him are very fond. I was an undergraduate at Chicago in the late '60s. He was always willing, even in that politically fraught era, when he was a lonely voice, to talk to students and to discuss issues with them as an adult and a teacher. It was only later that I realized how correct he was. But, in my youth it was his humanity and his good will that attracted my admiration.
Another memory is that a friend of mine, then a rookie assitant professor, now about to assume emeritus status, told me that Professor Friedman was the smartest man on the University of Chicago faculty.
TO: David Friedman FROM: Brock d'Avignon RealEducator@msn.com PhoneVoterTVexec@yahoo.com
I am remembering him. I will always do so. In 1990, after the World Libertarian Convention in San Francisco, he wrote me about my request to co-author my research on Percentage As You Earn (PAYE) Finance and Medical Finansurance since he inspired it. He liked my latter coined word "finansurance" saying, "You write the book, Brock, I am too old." In 1976, when he received the Nobel Prize, he returned my call asking me not to give the preliminary research done for Wiliam E. Simon Sr. to Ronald Reagan, not because he couldn't do great good with it; but because the research would be politicized polarly instead of accepted by all. I reluctantly stood down. However, I have persisted in thought and research every spare moment with his inspiring request to provide charging method alternatives to national socialist medicine, and in other fields. He liked history, as do you, and I have found many primary sources for income-contingent finance from 400 years ago til now. The work "Human Investments" is nearing completion. As he persisted, I had hoped to have him write the introduction to HI. I remember your book in 1973 "Machinery of Freedom" motivating me and it had no less an impact on me than your father's "Capitalism and Freedom". He had his wonderful Rose. Instead of flowers, I will one day send my book and script as a tribute for you to review and would be honored that in the stead of your father, you are invited to do the foreword. I will miss him for he tried to talk with civil humor with opponents. The greatest defeat of villains is to convert them. And that he did. In 1985, when two libertarians asked my opinion about creating a Libertarian Internationale, I encouraged them, and I cautioned them that ideological allies will not always understand your promoting property rights or individual liberty to socialists in the lion's den. It will take the same courage as Milton Friedman to stand up to your friends who don't want discourse with the enemy and will criticize you. that will be as difficult as standing up to your enemy. The International Society for Individual Liberty is now in 90 countries, more of them free because your father's clarity could be quoted by intellectuals and the man in the street asking for an end to dictatorships. When the Freed People of Earth truly ally against the last initiators of force, then Milton, Rose, and David Friedman will be there in the minds of those who made such a final press forward possible.
Good Health and Happiness to You In Freedom, Brock d'Avignon
Your father was a great man and we were all lucky for his existence. He was great back in 1951 when he won the Clark Medal, and he didn't even get started! He always kept outdoing himself and never tired in his fight for freedom and choice.
My condolences from Argentina. I'm a history student and last year I read Free to Choose, and I became a libertarian. This is a big loss for us libertarians across the world.
Your father, his ideas, and his words (spoken or written) changed my life and shaped my intellectual foundation. I, and surely the world, will remain forever mindful of and grateful to the great Dr. Friedman.
My condolences to you and your family. I am a big admirer of your father. I remember defending him and his views on Thursday 16 just a few hours before I heard the news. Despite all the BS some French newspapers write Humanity lost a great man that day, the fact that people say that from the other side of the world is a tribute to his memory.
Every man is mortal, but some live long enough to see their ideas vindicated by history. Milton Friedman, like Friedrich Hayek, was one of them. Their good names shall never die.
Los hombres que amamos la libertad nos sentimos profundamente consternados porque el economista más importante del último siglo se ha despedido de este mundo. No creo que haya otro hombre que haya dado tanto a este mundo, aunque sólo pocos sabrán reconocerlo.
En decenas de cursos de economía que llevé en las universidades públicas jamás me hablaron bien del Premio Nobel de Economía 1976. Nunca me recomendaron alguno de sus libros, que fueron muchos. De lejos se veía que los intelectuales izquierdistas, mis profesores, lo odiaban a muerte.
Por circunstancias fortuitas empecé a conocer la obra de Milton Friedman en 1993. Regresaba yo de la Habana después de asistir a un congreso de educación (Pedagogía 93) donde hablé de la necesidad de cambiar la forma de financiar a las escuelas públicas. Todo el que me oía, quedaba sorprendido y sin argumentos para rebatir mi idea. Pero un profesor del IPADE me bajó de la nube para decirme que ya alguien se me había adelantado con esa idea. Me dio la referencia y... en efecto Milton Friedman decía lo mismo que yo pero en el año 1955. Sorprendido porque “me habían robado la idea” empecé a buscar sus textos. Por primera vez en mi vida, después de haber estudiado dos doctorados en economía, tenía en mis manos su famoso libro “Libertad de Elegir”. Con lagrimas en los ojos lamenté que me hubieran ocultado este y todos sus demás textos. ¡Cuánto tiempo me habría ahorrado, cuánto daño habría dejado de hacer si lo hubiera leído antes!
Difícilmente se puede olvidar su genial observación de “no existe un sandwich gratis” Con ello nos enseñaba que lo que aparentemente es gratuito, alguien lo tiene que pagar. Las conclusiones de esta observación son cruciales para entender la perversidad de la “educación gratuita”, los “créditos blandos”, los cheques gratuitos a la tercera edad, los subsidios, etc. Comprendí la razón del odio de la izquierda mexicana y de todo el mundo ya que Friedman se oponía a los obesos aparatos burocráticos del Estado que pretenden controlar, regular y normar la economía. Consideraba a la burocracia como un verdadero estorbo para el florecimiento de la economía. Su idea de que el mercado supera en mucho a cualquier burócrata ilustrado para distribuir la riqueza de la sociedad fue un golpe directo a los keynesianos.
Decía Milton que el mejor sistema es la economía de mercado. Que se respeten las decisiones de cada individuo y se permita y aliente para que los hombres usen su propio talento, conocimientos y coraje para obtener lo que quieren y realizar sus sueños, siempre y cuando no dañen a otros. Un sistema así es mejor que cualquier sistema donde un dictador decide por todos.
Friedman nunca confió en los sindicatos pues lejos de salvar a los trabajadores se convertían en una pesada carga de funcionarios ricos a costa de las cuotas, prebendas y traiciones a sus asociados. Recomendaba que cada trabajador debiera aprender a defenderse y vender su trabajo al mejor precio.
Cosechó el odio de los gobiernos latinoamericanos pues les recomendaba que no usaran la maquinita de hacer billetes para pagar sus burocracias, hacer sus obras faraónicas o regalar a los pobres, pues eso genera más pobreza. También les explicaba la bondad de los impuestos bajos.
Los rectores de las Universidades públicas se cuidaban mucho de no invitarlo a dar conferencias. Pero la primera vez que vino a México (invitado por Carolina Bolivar), dijo “estoy recomendando que el gobierno de los Estados Unidos privatice sus escuelas públicas, pero los mexicanos tienen más urgencia de privatizar porque aquí hay más pobres”. La segunda vez dijo: “PEMEX debería ser propiedad del pueblo, y eso sólo es posible cuando cada ciudadano tenga acciones en la mano”. Por supuesto, los izquierdistas, burócratas y petroleros se le lanzaron directamente a la yugular con la intención de que nunca más regresara a México.
La primera vez que visitó la República Popular China fue en 1982 y lo hizo por moto propio. Ya hacía 6 años que se había muerto Mao Tse Tung y los dirigentes ya estaban decididos a abandonar la vieja línea maoísta que tanto daño y atraso les causara y estaban atentos a las nuevas ideas. Pero poco sabían de Milton quien solo se paseaba, observaba y platicaba informalmente con la gente que lo rodeaban. Los chinos lo veían como si viniera de un mundo extraño. Escribió algunos artículos sobre China y fue suficiente para que el gobierno de Deng Tsia Ping lo invitara a dar una serie de conferencias. Hoy no creo exagerar si digo que la China de Mao se está convirtiendo en la China de Friedman.
Finalmente, no quiero dejar de mencionar la proeza de los alumnos de Milton Friedman (que tuvo muchos) pero me refiero a los “Chicago boys” pues gracias a que se acercaron a Augusto Pinochet (quien de otra forma habría sido un simple dictador sin mayores luces) construyeron la economía más dinámica, moderna y avanzada de Latinoamérica. DE hecho el gran mérito de Pinochet fue dejar entrar a estos alumnos de Friedman.
La extensa obra de Milton Friedman sigue proscrita de las aulas universitarias. El precio de no abrir las puertas a Friedman se ha pagado con pobreza, atraso, estancamiento, inflación, depresión y violencia. Espero que algún día lo sepamos reconocer.
En fin, sirvan estas palabras para despedirme de mi querido maestro: Milton Friedman.
Oskar Lange famously said that in the socialist society there would be a statue of Mises. In the same spirit, I hope that in such a society there would be not only a statue but a library of Milton Friedman, one of the best enemies that socialism ever had.
My deepest condolences to you and your family. Through my work at Cato, I was honored to meet your parents and you.
One of my favorite memories is of your father speaking in San Jose, CA at a Cato technology seminar and fielding a question from you. You began by saying, "A wise man once taught me..., but you seem to be contradicting this idea." The discussion that followed was priceless between father and son.
I cherish my memories of his remarks and am reminded of them daily by the photo I have by my desk of me with your parents. His wisdom and clarity will be greatly missed. He lives on in so many ways - through the work of those who knew him, not the least his family, read his work, and act accordingly.
Sincere condollences. He will be missed by all including those who enjoy what he so loudly advocated for: Freedom And more so by those who long for and are yet to taste it.
Your father was a great man and a brilliant thinker. I was fortunate enough to have communicated with him a few times over the years.
It's true that your father inspired many libertarians and classical liberals in his lifetime. But he was also an inspiration to many conservatives, including myself.
His legacy, and his commitment to the principles of economic freedom, liberty and democracy, will never be forgotten.
My best to you and your family during this difficult time.
it feels funny to leave condolences to a family member of a person who is larger than life. I guess it is a reminder that the person is human and touches some people very personally, in addition to touching a world of people philisophically. My condolences to you and your family for your loss.
“Capitalism and Freedom” came out at a time when his voice was the prototypical cry in the wilderness. One could not find such advocates of freedom easily. It was like traveling from one state to another: This state had one, that one had none, another perhaps one.
Deep condolences from Japan. I read "Capitalism and Freedom" in 1977 for the first time in my university days, since then Milton Friedman has been a great teacher for me in every respect. The world has lost a great man, but I do believe the fire of freedom will never fade away.
Milton Friedman was all of things that were said about his continuing impact on world history. Others have covered the specifics far better than I can.
I want to gratefully acknowledge Milton's precious gifts of constructive criticism. I'm proof that they extended far beyond his actual students. I first became known to Professor Friedman seven years ago. Since I was developing a professional interest in what appeared to be Professor Friedman's major interest of the moment, school choice, I decided there was a tiny chance that my essay on why teachers should favor school choice could reach his desk. Sure enough, he returned it with comments. Indeed, the comments were more extensive than my text. With a few minutes of thoughtful criticism while waiting for a doctor to see him, he put me on a path to much clearer writing. A year later he agreed to consider endorsing my first book - the School Choice Wars - which he does not do unless he has read every word. In large part due to his combination of encouragement and incisive criticism, I went from [among other things] "excessive use of the passive voice" to 'sharp, punchy, action-oriented' according to a book critic, and Milton did provide the formal endorsement of style and substance.
Just 16 months ago, when the Western Economic Association conference was in San Francisco, Professor Friedman agreed to chair the School Choice session I had organized. After the session, Professor Friedman noted that my presentation could have been much more effective had it properly concluded in the alloted time. Ouch!! But of course he was right, and like my writing style, my presentation style has been on the mend ever since.
Thanks, Milton!! I'm sure I speak for many others that are grateful for even more than his great ideas and the powerful evidence of important truths he left us all.
192 comments:
My condolences to you and your family. Your father was a great man and will be remembered.
R.I.P.
/20 years late, raising a toast, and giving thanks for the inspiration.
Condolences from Poland, we remember Him for the great lessons of economy and warmth to our country.
Walter Block wrote a nice tribute on mises.org.
Condolences.
He was a great man and a great econommist. We'll never see his like again.
In the last 25 years there have been only two (short and mild) recessions. In the previous 25 years there were six, and several of them quite severe.
The difference is in the one quarter century Milton Friedman was considered an eccentric. In the other, his way of thinking about the Quantity Theory dominated the Fed's thinking.
David,
Kirk and I just heard about your father's passing. Sending you and Elizabeth our deepest sympathies.
Condolences from Denmark.
Milton Friedman: RIP
I will never forget the 2000 kilowatt smile I had after I read the first page of Capitalism and Freedom...that light will never go out. I send my condolences to you and your family.
Condolences from Iceland. One of the greatest man of liberty is now gone. The text from Havamal truly says it all.
May his memory be for a blessing.
Many, many years ago I knew you back in the ancient times when you and your wife were living temporarily in the Barony of Axemoor. I didn't know exactly who you were until well later in life... and only then did I learn about who you were and your father. I chanced this evening to look at the BBC news site, and saw the notice of his passing... we all walk the same paths, along the same roads, some leaving early and others staying until the end. Your father lived a long and successful life, and there is nothing to truly be sad over. Remember what was, and what he brought, never what could have been.
Dear David, you great father was one of the most brilliant minds of the past century. My condolences to you.
Dear David Friedman,
Just the other day, in Guatemala, when we had breakfast and talked about the vikings, your new novel, etc., I almost said: "Give my regards to you Dad--he is a great man, who has meant a lot to me." Now, I am sorry I did not, but it is no less true.
Best wishes to you & your family,
Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard
PS. Our Danish free-market blog has a tribute here:
http://www.punditokraterne.dk/77763_Milton_Friedman_1912-2006_R.I.P.html
Many condolences to you and your family on your loss.
- Josh
Se le recordará siempre. Milton fue un gran maestro para todos.
Danish Hymnal
Altid frejdig, når du går...
Ever dauntless as you tread...
Altid frejdig, når du går
veje, Gud tør kende,
selv om du til målet når
først ved verdens ende.
Ever dauntless as you tread
paths which God doth know,
even if you will at your goal arrive
only at the ending of the world.
Aldrig ræd for mørkets magt!
stjernerne vil lyse;
med et fadervor i pagt
skal du aldrig gyse.
Never fearing the power of Darkness!
The stars will shine;
with an Our Father as your guide
you will never tremble.
Kæmp for alt, hvad du har kært;
dø, om så det gælder,
da er livet ej så svært,
døden ikke heller.
Fight for all that you hold dear;
die, if that is the price,
then this life is less hard,
and death likewise.
Condolences from Denmark to the son of a Great Man.
May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
Sincerely,
Peter Alfredsen
David,
My condolences to you and your family. Your father was a giant and will remain with us in spirit and long be in our thoughts.
Condolences from Costa Rica. Your father's books introduced me to economics and libertarianism. He will be missed.
Condolences from Sweden, and he will be remembered and missed.
Your father may have had impossible shoes to fill, but at least in terms of continuing the spirit of creative thinking and free inquiry, you have certainly done so. Whenever I'm inclined to give a dogmatic answer, even one in defense of liberty, I try to step back and think to myself, "that's not how the Friedmans would do it." My condolences.
David:
Heartfelt condolences from San Jose. I learned a lot from the man, almost as much as I learned from you back in the day, on APO and HPO.
You have never for an instant tried to ride your dad's coattails, and to me, that has always said a great deal about your own character.
Your modest entry, today, is no different.
David,
Let's keep the fight going.
Our intellectual loss is your very personal loss. Sincere condolences.
My sincerest condolences.
The same thing everyone else said. If I could achieve professionally the things that they can't fit in the tributes, I would consider it a very accomplished life; he was notable 50 years ago, but kept overshadowing himself. And yet it's the personality and the clear communication (which seems to have followed his Y chromosome) that made him dear to hearts of millions of us who never met him.
Our thoughts and prayers to you and your family.
Hombres como tu padre cambiaron la historia. Hombres como tu padre hicieron historia.
Su sueño: un mundo próspero de hombres libres y responsables.
Sus logros: una sociedad más libre.
Su aporte para la humanidad: millones de personas que luchamos en nombre de la Libertad y la economía de mercado.
Es un héroe y un libre pensador como muy pocos!
Celebremos su vida y obras!
My condolences to you and your family in this time of sadness.
Rafael Ferreira
Brazil
Condolences,
from Japan and Sweden.
One thing is for sure, the lost of you father is a lost great lost to this world...
Your father's words, and especially his ideas, will not be forgotten.
Your father was an inspiration and an intellectual role model for many of us whom he pointed in the direction of libertarianism and economics.
My condolences to you and your family.
Sincerest condolences to you and your family. The world has lost a great man.
Thanks to everyone for the condolences and comments.
Dean's comment about the things that couldn't fit in the tributes reminded me of something I was thinking of today—the accomplishments outside of the ones he is known for.
My first post to this blog, at:
http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/2005/12/my-first-post.html
described the superiority of the Chicago style workshop, where the participants are expected to read the paper in advance and the presenter to talk about it for not very long, rather than presenting it, over the more conventional approach. As best I can tell the Chicago style workshop was an invention of my father's.
Long ago I happened to be doing some statistical work, and discovered that my father had a statistical test named after him, a way of doing statistics on ordinal rather than cardinal values—just what, in that project, I needed.
I gather that he was in part responsible for a much more important statistical breakthrough, the idea of using the results of the first N tests to decide whether to do test N+1, instead of selecting the number of tests in advance.
And, of course, he was an extraordinary person, in more ways that I can describe.
The verse I posted here is from Havamal, as one responder noted. It is also the end of the final chapter of my novel. My protagonist was not literally patterned on anyone, but I think his personality owes more to my father than to anyone else.
Certainly a sad day. My heart goes out to you and your family, especially your mother. So many of us were his spiritual children. His influence shall live as long as man survives.
I'll add my voice to the chorus: I'm sorry for your loss, especially since your loss is a loss for all of us.
My condolences. A true friend of liberty is rare!
My condolences. His good name will definately never die
Amen to all that has been said here.
Our Deepest Sympathies to you and your family.
-- Dagonell & Cigfran (from the First Pennsic Enchanted Ground)
I'm very sorry to hear of your father's passing. I was a young man in the 1970s when I came across Capitalism and Freedom. It made so much sense and provided answers that my loving -- but liberal -- parents couldn't provide. Much of my worldview is due to Milton Friedman.
R.I.P.
The greatest economist the world has ever known.
Many people inspired by your father gather at nhfree.com, and have posted at here
Thanks for the influences he has given, even he doesn't think he did.
You have my condolences. May your father rest in peace. He is the man who truly ignited my interest in economics and spurred me study it here at the University of Chicago.
My condolences on your loss.
I am not an economist, although I am familiar with some of your father's work, and hold him in high esteem.
You once wrote about how, when you were a child, on a long train trip, your father gave you the choice of a sleeping berth, or the regular seat and the price difference in cash. (If I recall correctly, you said you took the cash.)
I thought that was the greatest thing I'd ever heard … can't really explain why. It's partly how even his children were free to choose, and how much paternalism, even literal paternalism, must have run against his grain. But mostly, what an intellectual adventure it must be to be around a person like that, a man who's so ... I guess logical and principled and always thinking, in a way that exceptionally smart people often are.
Since then, every time the name Milton Friedman is mentioned, in the newspaper, TV, or web, the first thing I think about is the train.
All the best to you and your family.
Condolences from all Hong Kong people to you and your family.
Last month, Milton wrote a piece about us. Just two weeks ago, he was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper about school voucher system and what it is not.
Milton will be remembered by all Hong Kong people, for his care to us, even at his very old age at 94.
Milton, may you rest in peace, have a nice chatter with Sir John James Cowperthwaite when you meet him in heaven.
I'm very sorry for your loss, but jealous that you were lucky enough to have known him so well.
I don't have many heroes, but he is definitely one of them.
MF changed my way of thinking about economics and politics. His visit to Australia in 1975 was memorable. He had an impact on intellectual life here as he did around the world. A great man.
My sympathies to you and his wider family.
Condolences from Canada for a gentle man, a scholar, and a force for good in this world.
I am a brand new student of economics and even I can appreciate the impact that Milton Friedman had on the world. My condolences to you and your family.
Your father was not only a brilliant man, he had conviction, and compassion for others.
I did not know him personally, but his charm and sensitivity superceded the often mis-characterization imposed on libertarians.
Best wishes to you, your family, and especially your mother.
Today saddens us all as one of the truly great ones has departed. Small in stature, but a giant intellectually.
RIP Milton Friedman.
My condolences to you and your family. Your father, though I knew him only through his books and theories, has meant much to me.
He was not the Einstein of economics, Einstein was the Friedman of physics.
Andrew Hughes
One of history's greatest minds...
Condolences from a lone free-marketer in a Canadian socialist enclave.
I just wanted to offer my condolences. The world is a darker place without your father.
Dr. Friedman, you, your father, and your family have been great sources of inspiration to me, and, I know, to many classmates of mine here at George Mason. Thank you for your great spirit and ideas.
In Public Choice class today, I noted that while Professor Rowley did go out of his way to discuss and honor your father's work at the outset of the class, he needn't have; it came up later in the already-planned lecture.
Condolences from Scotland to you and the rest of your family.
My wife and I first met at a dinner in San Francisco at which your father was the speaker.
"The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones"
So let it NOT be with Milton Friedman. A gentle, wise voice of reason who proved to all of us that the pen will always be mightier than the sword was Milton Friedman. I never met him but always loved him like a grandfather.
Governments die, ideas are immortal. As long as freedom lives, Milton Friedman lives. Let us all honor his ever-living spirit by upholding the values of liberty and choice. Rest in peace, Milton Friedman, the world will never forget you.
Deepest condolences from Poland. His great works changed many lives here.
Condolences from Spain.
My condolences to add to the chorus. One note - a previous commenter said we will never see his like again. I sincerely hope he is wrong. We truly need a few more.
My condoleances to you and your family. Your father was a great man, who must never be forgotten.
http://frimarknadsanarki.blogspot.com/2006/11/hero-has-fallen.html
Condolences from Croatia.
Condolences from Ireland
David,
Condolences from France to you and your family.
Your father will be renembered for ever. Tribute to one of the greatest economist of the last century.
Getting liberty is a fight, Milton has shown the way to do it.
My condoleance to you and your family.
Milton was one of the most fantastic and creative thinker of the last century.
The fight for liberty continues.
You can take comfort, I hope, in the knowledge that your father's ideas improved the lives of millions.
Be proud.
Condolences from Germany. Your father was a great person who had a great influence on me (and on the world, of course).
Condolances from Serbia. His name will never die.
Great men never die. Condolences from Spain.
A message from the UK.
We are forever indebted to him for his fighting for liberty and demonstrating the errors of collectivism.
'Because every man is a biped, fifty men are not a centipede.' - G.K. Chesterton
Sincere Belgian condolences to you and your family.
Condolences from Sweden
Condolences from Poland. David, your father is the most influential free-market economist in my country.
Heartfelt condolences from London. Your father was a great inspiration for me, ever since I read "Capitalism and Freedom". I have since become more of a libertarian, but no doubt his books and his works helped to shape my way of thinking.
My condolences to you and your family, for your father's death.
Milton forever in our free heart.
By LucaF from Italy.
Condolences from Durham, England, to you and your family. Your father was a truly great man and I am proud that my home country, Sweden, payed him the respect he deserved by awarding him the Nobel Prize.
Condolences from Brussels, Belgium.
You are so priveleged to have been his son. I wish I had known him. My deepest condolences to you, your mother and your family.
My deepest sympathies. Your father was a great and good man. My condolences to your family and friends.
His values will endure. There is some comfort in that, David.
Tom, London, England. Supporter of the Libertarian Alliance.
My sincerest condolences.
My condolences to you and your family.
My condolences to you and your family.
Thank you, Dr. Milton Friedman for your words. Rest in peace.
Condolences from Italy.
Francesco
I'm so sorry; it must be hard to believe after all this time that he's not there any more.
You and your father have both been good influences on me. Thank you.
Cheers to a long and well-lived life, to a bold man and a wonderful family.
Condolences from Iceland. I just wrote some personal recollections on Milton Friedman for Morgunbladid, an Icelandic daily. He was a great man and an inspiration for the changes which we have implemented in Iceland. In his television debate with leading socialists in Iceland 31 August 1984 he shone, with all his customary brilliance.
He was easily one of the greatest minds of the 20th and 21st century. As such he affected people in many parts of the world, including me here in Newfoundland.
To all in your family, please accept my condolences and my prayers and my thanks for sharing this great man with the world. The world is a better place for it.
Please accept the heartfelt condolences of my brothers and me. We've posted a small tribute to your father on our group blog. He must have been a great teacher. His warmth and connection to his ideas came through in his books, his lectures, and his television appearances.
My deepest sympathies to you and your family. Your father will be missed, but I am extremely thankful for the long and wonderful life he lived. He was an inspiration.
My sincere condolences to you and your family. Your father was a great man whose wisdom and inspiration will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace knowing that you and many others are carrying the torch of liberty on its next lap.
Desiderius
The Netherlands
Sincere condolences from Switzerland.
Condolences from the Philippines.
Every man dies, not every man truely lives...
My deepest sympathies.
A student of Friedman's ideas
We will never forget your father. He was a great man, economist and libertarian.
Condolences from Jovenes Libertarios de Guatemala.
Condolences from Spain.
I can remember hours when I was just delighted to watch archived videos of Milton giving various speeches at the Cato Institute. And the ski vacation where in the evening hours by the fire I read Free to Choose. The joy of opening the WSJ op-ed page to find that he had written a letter to the editor.
I'm grateful to him for so much.
My condolences.
My condolences, Mr. Friedman. Your father was mankind's best friend. May he rest in peace.
Francis Langlois
Montreal
Dear Mr. Friedman,
please accept my sincere condolences to you, your mother & the rest of your family from the foot of the Mont-Pélerin in the land of the Switzers.
Yesterday, I gave a talk at the university of Lausanne to a group of libertarian/conservative students. Pace Lenin, it was entitled "Anarchy last stage of libertarianism" (L'anarchie stade suprême du libéralisme ;o). On the blackboard I had written the names of those I consider the three greatest libertarians of the XXth century (Luwig von Mises [Lemberg 1881-New York 1973], Ayn Rand [St-Petersburg 1905-New York 1982] & Murray N. Rothbard [New York 1926-New York 1995]) as well as the names of the two most influential: Friedrich von Hayek [Vienna 1899-Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1992] & -of course- your father.
On the blackboard was written: Milton Friedman [New York 1912- ... ]
(Sigh)
At the end of the meeting, a lady came to me & asked me if I had heard of a Nobel-prize winning libertarian economist who was also a member of the Republican party & who had -recently she emphasized- written about a scheme to dismantle the welfare-state by "giving" each & every inhabitant of a country a living allowance from the government. I told her it was your father who had popularized this idea of a "negative income tax" & that she could read all about it in "Capitalism & Freedom" (1962) which was available in a french translation at the university library. I also told her about "Free to Choose" (1980) as well as your own "The Machinery of Freedom" (1973; 2nd ed. 1989) which are both also available in a french translation.
Truly your father's work lives on & the fight goes on!
Later in the evening, while driving back toward the Mont-Pèlerin, I was astonished to learn the sad news on Swiss public radio... As a tribute to your father, all alone in my car, I screamed: "Let's privatize Swiss public radio!" I thought it fitting & at least it would be a beginning... ;o)
If I were giving my speech today, I would have had to write on the blackboard: Milton Friedman [New York 1912-San Francisco 2006]
Rest in peace, comrade, the fight for truth, justice & the libertarian way of life goes on.
Best regards,
Christoph Kohring
In dubio pro libertate
David,
He will be missed so much. He was a beacon. No one championed freedom and free markets as effectively or vigorously as he did. No one taught the public as much about liberty. I met him only once and am sorry I did not get to know him.
My heartfelt condolences to the you and your family.
Sheldon
I once saw your parents at a U. of C. anniversary gala in San Francisco about 15 years ago. I still remember watching them whisk around the ballroom like two young newlyweds. The love between them was palpable.
My condolences to you and your family.
My condolences
I saw him speak when I was 17. changed my life. I owe my career to him. I wish I could have seen him one more time to tell him that.
RIP
Sometime in the seventies I saw an interview with your father on Danish TV. Never one to mince words or fail to be to the point, he answered in characteristic fashion, "Price and wage controls did not work for the Roman Empire, they did not work for the Nixon administration and, although I am not a scholar of the Danish economy, I can confidently say, they will not work for you either."
Your epitaph for him is most fitting.
Sometime in the seventies I saw your father on Danish TV. Never one to mince words or fail to be to the point, he answered in characteristic fashion, "Wage and price controls did not work for the Roman Empire, they did not work for the Nixon administration, and although I am not a student of the Danish economy, I can confidently say, they will not work for you either." Your epitaph for him is most fitting.
Deyr fé,
deyja frændur,
deyr sjálfur ið sama.
En orðstír
deyr aldregi
hveim er sér góðan getur.
Sincerest condolences from Iceland. I took the liberty to write up the original of your Hávamál piece, if you would like the it in your book. Again, sincerest condolences
Dr. Friedman,
My sympathies to you and your family.
I'm just an average guy with just an average brain. I often wish that I had more going on upstairs.
Despite my intellectual shortcomings, I have enjoyed the works by you and your father intended for the general public.
I appreciate what the two of you have done to help people like me understand and see the world more clearly.
You both have helped make life more interesting and you've helped me feel just a little smarter!
Mike
My deepest condolences from Iceland.
You and your father are both great men, and you will both be remembered.
Rest in peace Milton Friedman, thank you for opening so many doors in my mind.
Here is the original Icelandic verse in Havamal, which you posted.
Deyr fé,
deyja frændur,
deyr sjálfur ið sama.
En orðstír
deyr aldregi
hveim er sér góðan getur.
Professor Milton Friedman: A gentleman, a scholar, and a mensch. RIP.
Benjamin Zycher
Condolences from Portugal and Angola.
Milton Friedman's influenced our lives more than we can imagine.
Thanks for everything.
My condolences to you and your family from Iceland. Your father was a great man and will be remembered.
The quote from Havalmal is very appropriate...
Sigfus
A tragic loss. Words are not enough.
Deyr fe, deyja fraendur
deyr sjalfur hid sama
en ordstyr deyr aldrey
hveim er ser godan getur.
Your father was one of the greatest minds ever!!!
Remembered along with Confusius, Cato, Caesar, Macchiavelli, Snorri, Churchill, Ropespierre, Socrates, Aristoteles, Plato and so on.
Nothing less!!!
We will always remember we will never forget him, the mentor of Tatcher and Reagan one of our greatest heroes.
Yours Truly, Orri Bjornsson from Iceland.
Mi sentido pésame desde Venezuela.
Condolences from Venezuela; your father was a great economist and teacher. It is a sad loss to us all.
He was a distinguished man who will be greatly missed. I send my deepest sympathies from Maryland.
Condolences from Massachusetts. If for no other achievement, I'd just like to say how impressive was your father's decades-long advocacy of school choice. That such a highly visible public intellectual would hammer at that unpopular issue so energetically and consistently means that today it's a mainstream idea. When so much human potential is ultimately liberated, we will have your father to thank. Clearly, he led an exemplary life, who instilled in so many a love of learning. May you continue the tradition.
What a sad day! I was skimming online newspapers and was surprised that there was a news article on Milton. As I was reading it a few paragraphs in, I realized that it was a tribute rather than a biographical piece (the title was not transparent).
I sat stunned on my chair, staring in disbelief at the computer screen. Only a few days ago I was watching some "Free to Choose" segments on YouTube and hoped to meet your father in person one day.
A sad day for economic science and the world. Hopefully, the reflection on his life will renew ideas of liberty that seem to have been forgotten in recent years.
Please accept my condolences, sir, and may his good name never die, as it will not if the verse you quote be true.
Condolences from Denmark.
Your loss is a personal loss, the depth of which none of us can truly appreciate.
However little comfort it might give you, you should know this:
Your father was, and always will be, a hero in my mind.
Condolences from Istanbul. What a great and full life!
My tribute is here (also mentions the Chicago-style workshop):
istanbulsunset.blogspot.com
My sincerest condolences to you and your family. Your father was an inspiration to many, including myself.
Duke Cariadoc,
I knew you and your family briefly in Axemoor many years ago. I was unfamiliar with your father and his teachings.
Many words have been said praising him, he has had many many achievements.
My comments are different.
Among his many achievements, and perhaps his best, was his ability to have raised such a wonderful person as yourself.
I fondly remember you and your wife. I learned much about authenicity and not compromising from you.
Aye the world has lost a great man.
You, milord, have lost your father.
" You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day
cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death,
open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one,
even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires
lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like the seeds dreaming beneath the snow
your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams,
for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd
when he stands before the king whose hand
is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling,
that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind
and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing,
but to free the breath from its restless tides,
that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence
shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top,
then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs,
then shall you truly dance."
- Kahlil Gibran, from The Prophet -
dear David,my condolences to you and your family.
Milton Friedman will live forever through his huge work.
We will never forget the hero of free market.
Sincerly yours
Our condolences- from Maldives.
Milton Friedman will continue
to be an inspiration across the world.
The Economist of the Century
http://truckandbarter.com/mt/archives/2006/11/the_economist_o.html
Condolences to you and your family, from Italian Libertarian group "Libertarian Reformers". Your father will always live in our hearts.
http://www.riformatoriliberali.org/dettaglio.asp?id=869#commenti
Thanks prof. Friedman
Milton Friedman was a man who inspired me, a young boy in one of the world's poorest country -Bangladesh to realise that end of the day the world is connected by its wealth. That mankind, if it is to survive, need to grow together independent of national or international control.
We have lost a legend but we have not lost hope.
My condolences to your family and you.
I recently watched some of Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" tv series. His smile and his excitement for liberty were wonderful to see. He has left a positive legacy for millions of people around the world. My condolences to you and your family.
Washington, DC
My condolences David. Your father changed my life with his ideas. He was, indeed, one of the most important individuals of the 20th century.
Condolences from Poitiers, France.
I started to study Mr. Friedman's just the other day. Thanks to this great invention called paper, his ideas will never die.
My condolences.
My condolences to you and your family. May your father's ideas ring down thru the centuries.
So sorry,
Bill Drissel
Condolences from far away Uruguay. Your father was a great man. You were lucky to have known him as probably no other has - except one.
My condolences to Rose Friedman.
My condolonces to you and your family.
Excluding the deaths of family members, I can't remember being as sad or as shaken up about someone's death to the extent that I was/am with Milton Friedman. Very few people have impacted my intellectual development--and, indeed, the direction I have taken in life--to the extent that he has.
He was a Champion. I`m so sorry...but show must go on. We won`t forget about him. Never. He was a great man,great economist. Another one condolences from Poland.
Condolences from Hong Kong, your father will be missed by many people in Hong Kong.
My condolences, from the Netherlands.
Mat
My condolences, from the Netherlands
Condolences from Singapore.
Michael Sun
In watching Milton on various video appearances, I never got the impression that he was a distinguished Professor of Economics, a Nobel Prize winner, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, or whatever.
None of these things seemed to matter to Milton - they were ancilliary to his main objective of showing us how to help mankind.
And that is beauty of Milton's message of freedom. The logic behind it seems so simple once you understand it. With his style, I am sure Milton has managed to persuade many people of this. A great many more people than the average libertarian ever could.
Thankyou, Milton, for teaching me the power of economics and the dignity inherent in governments allowing us to live our own lives - free to choose.
I cannot really find words for what I want to say. My sincere condolences to you and your family. How gracious that there are people who inspire us like your father.
Condolences from Turkey.
He was a great man, a brilliant mind, and I know him from his works that he was "the economist of the century".
Hsi name will never die.
Condolences to all your family.
Your father changed my way of thinking, like of many others.
Madrid, Spain
Heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
I would express my condolences to you and your family. Such a bereavement is actually a loss for those who - all over the world - supporting the economic and social freedom, try to carry on his spirit.
thanks
Federico Parmeggiani, reggio emilia, Italy
Count me among the many whose life was changed by the books "Capitalism and Freedom" and "Free to Choose."
To pick up on what Roland Patrick said above in an earlier comment ("In the last 25 years there have been only two (short and mild) recessions. In the previous 25 years there were six, and several of them quite severe"),
Many Americans probably don't realize how much we owe to Friedman. It seems like no one recalls that from 1975-1983 both inflation and unemployment averaged 7.7% (inflation has averaged just about 3% since 1983-unemployment averaged 5.75% in the 1990s and 5.11% since 2000). His ideas helped get the FED to concentrate more on fighting inflation. This has helped the economy in the long run and we have all benefited.
Few are those who change the political world. Fewer still are those whose changes are not, in large measure, broken eggs and unintended consequences.
Few, also, are those who change the culture of ideas.
Your father was an amazing man. The world is richer for his life, and poorer for his death.
זכרונו לברכה
May your father be remembered only for blessings.
May his memory be for a blessing.
My own memories of him are very fond. I was an undergraduate at Chicago in the late '60s. He was always willing, even in that politically fraught era, when he was a lonely voice, to talk to students and to discuss issues with them as an adult and a teacher. It was only later that I realized how correct he was. But, in my youth it was his humanity and his good will that attracted my admiration.
Another memory is that a friend of mine, then a rookie assitant professor, now about to assume emeritus status, told me that Professor Friedman was the smartest man on the University of Chicago faculty.
Condolences from Brazil. Bruno.
TO: David Friedman
FROM: Brock d'Avignon RealEducator@msn.com
PhoneVoterTVexec@yahoo.com
I am remembering him. I will always do so. In 1990, after the World Libertarian Convention in San Francisco, he wrote me about my request to co-author my research on Percentage As You Earn (PAYE) Finance and Medical Finansurance since he inspired it. He liked my latter coined word "finansurance" saying, "You write the book, Brock, I am too old." In 1976, when he received the Nobel Prize, he returned my call asking me not to give the preliminary research done for Wiliam E. Simon Sr. to Ronald Reagan, not because he couldn't do great good with it; but because the research would be politicized polarly instead of accepted by all. I reluctantly stood down. However, I have persisted in thought and research every spare moment with his inspiring request to provide charging method alternatives to national socialist medicine, and in other fields.
He liked history, as do you, and I have found many primary sources for income-contingent finance from 400 years ago til now. The work "Human Investments" is nearing completion. As he persisted, I had hoped to have him write the introduction to HI. I remember your book in 1973 "Machinery of Freedom" motivating me and it had no less an impact on me than your father's "Capitalism and Freedom".
He had his wonderful Rose. Instead of flowers, I will one day send my book and script as a tribute for you to review and would be honored that in the stead of your father, you are invited to do the foreword.
I will miss him for he tried to talk with civil humor with opponents. The greatest defeat of villains is to convert them. And that he did. In 1985, when two libertarians asked my opinion about creating a Libertarian Internationale, I encouraged them, and I cautioned them that ideological allies will not always understand your promoting property rights or individual liberty to socialists in the lion's den. It will take the same courage as Milton Friedman to stand up to your friends who don't want discourse with the enemy and will criticize you. that will be as difficult as standing up to your enemy. The International Society for Individual Liberty is now in 90 countries, more of them free because your father's clarity could be quoted by intellectuals and the man in the street asking for an end to dictatorships. When the Freed People of Earth truly ally against the last initiators of force, then Milton, Rose, and David Friedman will be there in the minds of those who made such a final press forward possible.
Good Health and Happiness to You In Freedom,
Brock d'Avignon
Condolences from Spain, wish there were many men like your father. In Spain it´s very needed.
Descanse en Paz.
Your father was a great man and we were all lucky for his existence. He was great back in 1951 when he won the Clark Medal, and he didn't even get started! He always kept outdoing himself and never tired in his fight for freedom and choice.
You should probably write a biography of him.
My condolences from Argentina. I'm a history student and last year I read Free to Choose, and I became a libertarian. This is a big loss for us libertarians across the world.
Codolences from Tawian, Your father's contribution to Economic secinece and freedom of human being will be remembered forever.
Milton Friedman: RIP
All of us who love freedom and are willing to defend it, will always find inspiration and streght in your father´s work.
Condolences from Mexico
Condolences from Chicago.
Your father, his ideas, and his words (spoken or written) changed my life and shaped my intellectual foundation. I, and surely the world, will remain forever mindful of and grateful to the great Dr. Friedman.
Condelences from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France.
Condolences from Spain.
Your father was a great man and probably the better economist in XX century.
My condolences to you and your family David in this time of loss.
Milton Friedman was a source of inspiration and education for so many around the world.
You will continue to fight the good fight.
Conno - www.goalsandgirls.com/blog
Condolences from Paris, France.
Milton, was one off the greatest fighter for freedom.
My condolences to you and your family. I am a big admirer of your father. I remember defending him and his views on Thursday 16 just a few hours before I heard the news. Despite all the BS some French newspapers write Humanity lost a great man that day, the fact that people say that from the other side of the world is a tribute to his memory.
Deep condolences from Romania,
My condolences to you and your family.
All friends of liberty grieve for your loss.
As long as the flame of liberty still is alight, people will remember your father.
Every man is mortal, but some live long enough to see their ideas vindicated by history. Milton Friedman, like Friedrich Hayek, was one of them. Their good names shall never die.
Milton Friedman: Un verdadero economista
Los hombres que amamos la libertad nos sentimos profundamente consternados porque el economista más importante del último siglo se ha despedido de este mundo. No creo que haya otro hombre que haya dado tanto a este mundo, aunque sólo pocos sabrán reconocerlo.
En decenas de cursos de economía que llevé en las universidades públicas jamás me hablaron bien del Premio Nobel de Economía 1976. Nunca me recomendaron alguno de sus libros, que fueron muchos. De lejos se veía que los intelectuales izquierdistas, mis profesores, lo odiaban a muerte.
Por circunstancias fortuitas empecé a conocer la obra de Milton Friedman en 1993. Regresaba yo de la Habana después de asistir a un congreso de educación (Pedagogía 93) donde hablé de la necesidad de cambiar la forma de financiar a las escuelas públicas.
Todo el que me oía, quedaba sorprendido y sin argumentos para rebatir mi idea. Pero un profesor del IPADE me bajó de la nube para decirme que ya alguien se me había adelantado con esa idea. Me dio la referencia y... en efecto Milton Friedman decía lo mismo que yo pero en el año 1955. Sorprendido porque “me habían robado la idea” empecé a buscar sus textos. Por primera vez en mi vida, después de haber estudiado dos doctorados en economía, tenía en mis manos su famoso libro “Libertad de Elegir”. Con lagrimas en los ojos lamenté que me hubieran ocultado este y todos sus demás textos. ¡Cuánto tiempo me habría ahorrado, cuánto daño habría dejado de hacer si lo hubiera leído antes!
Difícilmente se puede olvidar su genial observación de “no existe un sandwich gratis” Con ello nos enseñaba que lo que aparentemente es gratuito, alguien lo tiene que pagar. Las conclusiones de esta observación son cruciales para entender la perversidad de la “educación gratuita”, los “créditos blandos”, los cheques gratuitos a la tercera edad, los subsidios, etc. Comprendí la razón del odio de la izquierda mexicana y de todo el mundo ya que Friedman se oponía a los obesos aparatos burocráticos del Estado que pretenden controlar, regular y normar la economía. Consideraba a la burocracia como un verdadero estorbo para el florecimiento de la economía. Su idea de que el mercado supera en mucho a cualquier burócrata ilustrado para distribuir la riqueza de la sociedad fue un golpe directo a los keynesianos.
Decía Milton que el mejor sistema es la economía de mercado. Que se respeten las decisiones de cada individuo y se permita y aliente para que los hombres usen su propio talento, conocimientos y coraje para obtener lo que quieren y realizar sus sueños, siempre y cuando no dañen a otros. Un sistema así es mejor que cualquier sistema donde un dictador decide por todos.
Friedman nunca confió en los sindicatos pues lejos de salvar a los trabajadores se convertían en una pesada carga de funcionarios ricos a costa de las cuotas, prebendas y traiciones a sus asociados. Recomendaba que cada trabajador debiera aprender a defenderse y vender su trabajo al mejor precio.
Cosechó el odio de los gobiernos latinoamericanos pues les recomendaba que no usaran la maquinita de hacer billetes para pagar sus burocracias, hacer sus obras faraónicas o regalar a los pobres, pues eso genera más pobreza. También les explicaba la bondad de los impuestos bajos.
Los rectores de las Universidades públicas se cuidaban mucho de no invitarlo a dar conferencias. Pero la primera vez que vino a México (invitado por Carolina Bolivar), dijo “estoy recomendando que el gobierno de los Estados Unidos privatice sus escuelas públicas, pero los mexicanos tienen más urgencia de privatizar porque aquí hay más pobres”. La segunda vez dijo: “PEMEX debería ser propiedad del pueblo, y eso sólo es posible cuando cada ciudadano tenga acciones en la mano”. Por supuesto, los izquierdistas, burócratas y petroleros se le lanzaron directamente a la yugular con la intención de que nunca más regresara a México.
La primera vez que visitó la República Popular China fue en 1982 y lo hizo por moto propio. Ya hacía 6 años que se había muerto Mao Tse Tung y los dirigentes ya estaban decididos a abandonar la vieja línea maoísta que tanto daño y atraso les causara y estaban atentos a las nuevas ideas. Pero poco sabían de Milton quien solo se paseaba, observaba y platicaba informalmente con la gente que lo rodeaban. Los chinos lo veían como si viniera de un mundo extraño. Escribió algunos artículos sobre China y fue suficiente para que el gobierno de Deng Tsia Ping lo invitara a dar una serie de conferencias. Hoy no creo exagerar si digo que la China de Mao se está convirtiendo en la China de Friedman.
Finalmente, no quiero dejar de mencionar la proeza de los alumnos de Milton Friedman (que tuvo muchos) pero me refiero a los “Chicago boys” pues gracias a que se acercaron a Augusto Pinochet (quien de otra forma habría sido un simple dictador sin mayores luces) construyeron la economía más dinámica, moderna y avanzada de Latinoamérica. DE hecho el gran mérito de Pinochet fue dejar entrar a estos alumnos de Friedman.
La extensa obra de Milton Friedman sigue proscrita de las aulas universitarias. El precio de no abrir las puertas a Friedman se ha pagado con pobreza, atraso, estancamiento, inflación, depresión y violencia. Espero que algún día lo sepamos reconocer.
En fin, sirvan estas palabras para despedirme de mi querido maestro: Milton Friedman.
Dr. Santos Mercado Reyes
16 nov 2006 México
Condolences from New Zealand..
Your fathers work renewed my interest in economics (and more interestingly drug reform!) post university.
If only I'd read his work before hand!
Oskar Lange famously said that in the socialist society there would be a statue of Mises. In the same spirit, I hope that in such a society there would be not only a statue but a library of Milton Friedman, one of the best enemies that socialism ever had.
Ken writes:
"Oskar Lange famously said that in the socialist society there would be a statue of Mises. "
And I seem to remember some weird sf author borrowing the idea for one of his books. Now what was his name ... ?
May I add my condolences to the many others.
Dear Dr. Friedman, / To Your Grace Duke Cariadoc,
I never met your father, but I was an admirer of both his work and himself as a man. I grieve for you, and am sorry for your and your mother's loss.
Peace and comfort to you,
David K. M. Klaus / Kevin of White Castle
david_k_m_klaus@yahoo.com
Dear David,
My deepest condolences to you and your family. Through my work at Cato, I was honored to meet your parents and you.
One of my favorite memories is of your father speaking in San Jose, CA at a Cato technology seminar and fielding a question from you. You began by saying, "A wise man once taught me..., but you seem to be contradicting this idea." The discussion that followed was priceless between father and son.
I cherish my memories of his remarks and am reminded of them daily by the photo I have by my desk of me with your parents. His wisdom and clarity will be greatly missed. He lives on in so many ways - through the work of those who knew him, not the least his family, read his work, and act accordingly.
With deep sympathy,
Laura M. in Conn.
My sympathy to you. I never met your father, but he was a great and inspiring man, and a charming and passionate defender of liberty.
My condolences to you. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Sincere condollences. He will be missed by all including those who enjoy what he so loudly advocated for: Freedom
And more so by those who long for and are yet to taste it.
Pole Sana from Kenya.
He was a hero of mine and I'm grateful for the work he did.
Condolences from Poland. I will never forget Your Father and His ideas.
David,
Condolences from Canada.
Your father was a great man and a brilliant thinker. I was fortunate enough to have communicated with him a few times over the years.
It's true that your father inspired many libertarians and classical liberals in his lifetime. But he was also an inspiration to many conservatives, including myself.
His legacy, and his commitment to the principles of economic freedom, liberty and democracy, will never be forgotten.
My best to you and your family during this difficult time.
MJT
Dear Mr Friedman,
Condolences. Words eludes me.
Chin, Singapore
it feels funny to leave condolences to a family member of a person who is larger than life. I guess it is a reminder that the person is human and touches some people very personally, in addition to touching a world of people philisophically. My condolences to you and your family for your loss.
“Capitalism and Freedom” came out at a time when his voice was the prototypical cry in the wilderness. One could not find such advocates of freedom easily. It was like traveling from one state to another: This state had one, that one had none, another perhaps one.
He will always be remembered.
Just a thought.
Just Ken
Deep condolences from Japan.
I read "Capitalism and Freedom" in 1977 for the first time in my university days, since then Milton Friedman has been a great teacher for me in every respect.
The world has lost a great man, but I do believe the fire of freedom will never fade away.
RIP
Milton Friedman was all of things that were said about his continuing impact on world history. Others have covered the specifics far better than I can.
I want to gratefully acknowledge Milton's precious gifts of constructive criticism. I'm proof that they extended far beyond his actual students. I first became known to Professor Friedman seven years ago. Since I was developing a professional interest in what appeared to be Professor Friedman's major interest of the moment, school choice, I decided there was a tiny chance that my essay on why teachers should favor school choice could reach his desk. Sure enough, he returned it with comments. Indeed, the comments were more extensive than my text. With a few minutes of thoughtful criticism while waiting for a doctor to see him, he put me on a path to much clearer writing. A year later he agreed to consider endorsing my first book - the School Choice Wars - which he does not do unless he has read every word. In large part due to his combination of encouragement and incisive criticism, I went from [among other things] "excessive use of the passive voice" to 'sharp, punchy, action-oriented' according to a book critic, and Milton did provide the formal endorsement of style and substance.
Just 16 months ago, when the Western Economic Association conference was in San Francisco, Professor Friedman agreed to chair the School Choice session I had organized. After the session, Professor Friedman noted that my presentation could have been much more effective had it properly concluded in the alloted time. Ouch!! But of course he was right, and like my writing style, my presentation style has been on the mend ever since.
Thanks, Milton!! I'm sure I speak for many others that are grateful for even more than his great ideas and the powerful evidence of important truths he left us all.
Dear David, your father was the man of the century. He had such profound influence on me. A great man. oz
Unfortunately my country is far away from Milton Friedman´s ideas. Condolences from Brazil!
I almost cried when I hear the news. Milton was the real revolutionary.
My condolences from Colombia,
Carlos
He will surely be remembered and will be part of our lives just like skin beauty tips
Post a Comment