Capitalism and Freedom (University of Chicago Press, 2002 edition)

Milton Friedman · c. 1962

Milton Friedman did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
To a free person, the country is the individuals who compose it, not something above them

Their wordsTo the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them.

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Our reading
A free person sees government as a means, neither a giver of favors nor a master to be worshipped

Their wordshe regards government as a means, an instrumentality, neither a grantor of favors and gifts, nor a master or god to be blindly worshipped and served.

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Our reading
Freedom is rare and delicate, and its great threat is the concentration of power

Their wordsFreedom is a rare and delicate plant. Our minds tell us, and history confirms, that the great threat to freedom is the concentration of power.

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Our reading
A free person asks neither what the country can do for them nor what they can do for the country

Their wordsfree man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country.

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Our reading
If government is to exercise power, it is better done locally than by states, and by states than nationally

Their wordsIf government is to exercise power, better in the county than in the state, better in the state than in Washington.

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Our reading
Government power must be dispersed

Their wordsThe second broad principle is that government power must be dispersed.

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Our reading
Economic arrangements play a dual role in promoting a free society

Their wordsEconomic arrangements play a dual role in the promotion of a free society.

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Our reading
History suggests capitalism is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for political freedom

Their wordsHistory suggests only that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition.

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Our reading
In a crisis, the actions taken depend on the ideas that are lying around

Their wordsWhen that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around.

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Our reading
The basic job of policy thinkers is to keep alternatives alive until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable

Their wordsThat, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.

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Our reading
To advocate anything, people must first be able to earn a living

Their wordsIn order for men to advocate anything, they must in the first place be able to earn a living.

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Our reading
Using political channels, though inevitable, tends to strain the social cohesion a stable society needs

Their wordsThe use of political channels, while inevitable, tends to strain the social cohesion essential for a stable society.

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Our reading
Markets greatly reduce the issues that must be decided politically, minimizing government's direct participation

Their wordsWhat the market does is to reduce greatly the range of issues that must be decided through political means, and thereby to minimize the extent to which government need participate directly in the game.

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Our reading
Freedom is a tenable goal only for responsible individuals, not for madmen or children

Their wordsFreedom is a tenable objective only for responsible individuals. We do not believe in freedom for madmen or children.

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Our reading
The fundamental threat to freedom is the power to coerce, whether held by a monarch, dictator, oligarchy or momentary majority

Their wordsPolitical freedom means the absence of coercion of a man by his fellow men. The fundamental threat to freedom is power to coerce, be it in the hands of a monarch, a dictator, an oligarchy, or a momentary majority.

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Our reading
A consistent liberal is not an anarchist

Their wordsThe consistent liberal is not an anarchist.

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Our reading
The Great Depression was produced by government mismanagement, not by instability inherent in the private economy

Their wordsGreat Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.

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Our reading
Letting people follow their own interests is desirable because no one can predict where they will come out

Their wordsit is desirable to let men follow the bent of their own interests because there is no way of predicting where they will come out.

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Our reading
A competitive market involves no personal rivalry and no personal haggling

Their wordsThere is no personal rivalry in the competitive market place. There is no personal higgling.

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Our reading
The major disadvantage of a negative income tax is its political implications

Their wordsThe major disadvantage of the proposed negative income tax is its political implications.

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Found from what the books talk about: claims worded alike in the archive's hourly pass, and subjects both are filed under. It is not a judgement that they agree — related books often argue the opposite. All books

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The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.