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"The free market is the only mechanism that has ever been discovered for achieving participatory democracy."

Friedman, Milton

menu_book Capitalism and Freedom

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"That's an interesting paradox to think about. Make it legal and it's no good. Why? Because as long as it's illegal the people who come in do not qualify for welfare, they don't qualify for social security, they don't qualify for the other myriad of benefits that we pour out from our left pocket to our right pocket. So long as they don't qualify they migrate to jobs. They take jobs that most residents of this country are unwilling to take. They provide employers with the kind of workers that they cannot get. They're hard workers, they're good workers, and they are clearly better off."

Friedman, Milton

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"There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you're doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I'm not so careful about the content of the present, but I'm very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else's money on myself. And if I spend somebody else's money on myself, then I'm sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else's money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else's money on somebody else, I'm not concerned about how much it is, and I'm not concerned about what I get. And that's government."

Friedman, Milton

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auto_stories Books

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

person Sowell, Thomas

event 2000

Comprehensive introduction to economic principles written for the general public, explaining how markets work and the effects of various economic p...

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Capitalism and Freedom

person Friedman, Milton

event 1962

A seminal work arguing that economic freedom is a prerequisite for political freedom, exploring the role of capitalism in a free society

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Economics in One Lesson

person Hazlitt, Henry

event 1946

Classic introduction to economic thinking, demonstrating that good economics considers both the immediate effects and the longer-term effects on al...

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I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read

person Read, Leonard

event 1958

A classic essay illustrating the concept of spontaneous order through the story of a pencil's creation, demonstrating how no single person possesse...

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An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

person Smith, Adam

event 1776

Foundational work of modern economics examining the mechanisms of free markets, division of labor, and the role of self-interest in creating prospe...

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person Authors

Friedman, Milton

American economist and statistician, Nobel laureate in Economics (1976), leading advocate of free-market capitalism and monetarism

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Hazlitt, Henry

American journalist, economist and author, famous for Economics in One Lesson, advocate of the Austrian School

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Kirk, Charlie

American conservative activist, founder of Turning Point USA, advocate for free markets and limited government

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Nakamoto, Satoshi

Pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008 and mined the genesis block in 20...

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Read, Leonard

American libertarian philosopher and author, founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, famous for his essay 'I, Pencil'

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Smith, Adam

Scottish economist and philosopher, father of modern economics, author of The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments

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Sowell, Thomas

American economist, social theorist and senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, known for his work in economic theory and social policy

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psychology Concepts

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Four Ways to Spend Money

Milton Friedman's framework describing four ways money can be spent, each with different incentives for economy and care about results: (1) Spendin...

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