China's productive system draws upon the other East Asian countries to a great extent. The volume of trade is much larger than the net amount being exported from China. China needs substantial reserves to finance all that. Milton Friedman More Quotes by Milton Friedman More Quotes From Milton Friedman You never have real changes unless you have a time of crisis. Milton Friedman times-of-crisiscrisisreal We had much freer trade in the 19th century. We have much less globalization now than we did then. Milton Friedman globalizationtradecentury I think in some ways it would make more sense to have as a poverty level a relative concept and say, the level of poverty is that level of income or that level of consumption below which 10 percent of the people now are. Milton Friedman incomepeoplethinking There is not a line in 'The Wealth of Nations' that is not still applicable to this day. Milton Friedman wealthlinesstills If you continue to use monetary policy to attempt to promote full employment the result would be that you would have higher inflation, and that you would not have lower unemployment. Milton Friedman unemploymentusewould-be The major basis for my opposition to marijuana prohibition has not been how badly it's worked, the fact that it's produced much more harm than good - it has been primarily a moral reason: I don't think the state has any more right to tell me what to put into my mouth than it has to tell me what can come out of my mouth. Milton Friedman marijuanamouthsthinking The history of mankind is the history of money losing value. Milton Friedman valuesmankindlosing The invisible hand in politics operates in the opposite direction to the invisible hand in the market. Milton Friedman invisible-handoppositeshands Freedom means diversity but also mobility. It preserves the opportunity for today's disadvantaged to become tomorrow's privileged and, in the process, enables almost everyone, from top to bottom, to enjoy a fuller and richer life. Milton Friedman diversityopportunitymean We economists don't know much, but we do know how to create a shortage. If you want to create a shortage of tomatoes, for example, just pass a law that retailers can't sell tomatoes for more than two cents per pound. Instantly you'll have a tomato shortage. It's the same with oil or gas. Milton Friedman oillawtwo Economists may not know much. But we know one thing very well: how to produce surpluses and shortages. Do you want a surplus? Have the government legislate a minimum price that is above the price that would otherwise prevail. That is what we have done at one time or another to produce surpluses of wheat, of sugar, of butter, of many other commodities. Do you want a shortage? Have the government legislate a maximum price that is below the price that would otherwise prevail. Milton Friedman governmentwantmay There is no other complex field in our society in which do-it-yourself beats out factory production or market production. Nobody makes his or her own car. But it is still the case that parents can perform the job of educating their children [homeschooling], in many cases better than our present education system. Milton Friedman carjobschildren There is no figure who had more of an influence, no person had more of an influence on the intellectuals behind the Iron Curtain than Friedrich Hayek. His books were translated and published by the underground and black market editions, read widely, and undoubtedly influenced the climate of opinion that ultimately brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Milton Friedman ironblackbook How do you hold down government spending? Milton Friedman government-spendingspendinggovernment My interest in political philosophy was rather casual until I met Hayek. Milton Friedman hayekpoliticalphilosophy Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible. Milton Friedman foundationresponsibilityacceptance The power to determine the quantity of money... is too important, too pervasive, to be exercised by a few people, however public-spirited, if there is any feasible alternative. There is no need for such arbitrary power. Milton Friedman importantpeopleneeds Economics has become increasingly an arcane branch of mathematics rather than dealing with real economic problems. Milton Friedman branchesproblemreal For one thing, there are many "inventions" that are not patentable. The "inventor" of the supermarket, for example, conferred great benefits on his fellowmen for which he could not charge them. Insofar as the same kind of ability is required for the one kind of invention as for the other, the existence of patents tends to divert activity to patentable inventions. Milton Friedman patentsbenefitsexample I am myself persuaded, on the basis of extensive study of the historical evidence, that... the severity of each of the contractions - 1920-21, 1929-33, and 1937-38 - is directly attributable to acts of commission and omission by the Reserve authorities and would not have occurred under earlier monetary and banking arrangements. Milton Friedman bankingomissionhistorical
