Tribute: Milton Friedman

Okay, so sadly enough, many people at my law school apparently have no idea who Milton Friedman was, even though he died yesterday. Fair enough - he was a Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist who pioneered the monetarist school of economic thought. He believed, as I do, in freedom of choice for the individual. Whether it's school vouchers, the "war" on drugs, or antitrust law, he believed government intervention usually made things worse, especially when it messed with the free market.

Some have criticized him for "helping" Pinochet in Chile, but here, they miss the forest for the trees. As a libertarian, Friedman himself did not approve of the political situation in Chile, but believed, as many do, that free markets eventually lead to free peoples (which, of course, eventually happened in Chile and might happen in China).

More than that, however, one can tell certain things about the man. Friedman was married to his wife, Rose Friedman in 1938. When he died at the age of 94, more than 75 years later, they were still happily married, with two children.