Rose Friedman (née Director), the Chicago-trained economist, was a very important contributor to Milton Friedman’s scholarly output, popular writings, and television series. His remarkable role in society was to a significant extent a joint role from which she cannot be separated.

This essay responds to the question, “Why is there no Milton Friedman today?” In doing so, it briefly examines several aspects of Friedman’s professional life that contributed to his success in the academic, policy, and public realms as well as the influence of the social and political...

This article addresses two questions: Are there fewer economist public intellectuals today than previously, and if so, why? and: Are there fewer economists who support free markets today, and if so, why? It answers yes to the first question, suggesting that the selection process for graduate...

Why is there no Milton Friedman today? The new structure of things—or lack of structure—makes it hard for someone to emerge as a focal representative of classical liberalism. But every day, innumerable souls breathe new vitality into the cogent perspective that Friedman and others gave to...

That there is no Milton Friedman today is not a mystery; the mystery is how Milton Friedman could have been. The facts of Friedman’s biography make him unique among twentieth-century public figures. He had extensive knowledge and expertise in mathematics and statistics. Yet he became a critic...

The presence of iconic superstars declines in many fields of endeavor, and economics is no exception to those principles. As for political orientation, those raised up to relative prominence today fit the spirit of the times.

Milton Friedman combined the roles of economic analyst, advocate of specific public policies, and passionate public intellectual advocating classic liberalism, though largely on moral and political rather than economic grounds. Immensely influential in his lifetime, his star has faded in recent...

I suggest that the historical Milton Friedman arose as the rare conjunction of a special person and a very favorable environment. So a successor is unlikely. This is a good thing. The dominance of a Milton Friedman type, right or left, is bad for economics and for society. It attracts resources...

The extraordinary influence of Milton Friedman is largely attributable to the passion and clarity he brought to the defense of competitive markets during the New Deal period when the public entrenchment of monopolies and cartels were standard government policy. Friedman wrote at a time when the...

Why is there no Milton Friedman today? For two reasons. The young Milton Friedman emerged from a cloistered hold-out against the Age of Keynes; as such he was a battle-tested master of ingenuity and subterfuge. The accomplishments of those years cannot be replicated by the dominant and dogmatic...