Portrait of Milton Friedman
Right · Economist · From history

Milton Friedman

American economist, 1912 to 2006

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Championed free markets, floating exchange rates and school vouchers, argued that inflation is always a monetary phenomenon, and advised Ronald Reagan. He won the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Milton Friedman sits in the right-libertarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly free market and strongly libertarian. The clearest positions are strongly free market on economy, strongly libertarian on liberty and authority and leaning tech-optimist on technology. The profile is close to the middle on culture, war and peace and institutions.

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Where Milton Friedman sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly libertarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureCentered on culture
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning globalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentLeaning growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceCentered on war and peace
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsCentered on institutions
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismLeaning non-interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Milton Friedman

Ludwig von Mises Austrian economist, 1881 to 197399%Robert Nozick American philosopher, 1938 to 200299%Friedrich Hayek Austrian-British economist and philosopher, 1899 to 199299%Adam Smith Scottish economist and philosopher, 1723 to 179098%Mario Vargas Llosa Peruvian novelist, 1936 to 202598%Matt Ridley British science writer and businessman96%Julian Simon American economist, 1932 to 199895%Gary Johnson Governor of New Mexico, 1995 to 200394%

People furthest from Milton Friedman

Mojtaba Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran, 2026 to present8%Ruhollah Khomeini Supreme Leader of Iran, 1979 to 19898%Louis XIV King of France, 1643 to 17159%Benito Mussolini Prime Minister of Italy, 1922 to 194310%

Political views closest to Milton Friedman

MinarchismLimits the state to a minimal "night-watchman" role of courts, police and defense.99%Austrian schoolAn economic tradition that stresses individual choice, sound money and skepticism about…99%Classical liberalismIndividual rights, limited government, free markets and the rule of law.98%ObjectivismA philosophy of rational self-interest, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism.95%

Read more about Milton Friedman

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Biographies of Milton FriedmanBooks on minarchism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Bachrach Studios, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.