“Freedom is a tenable objective only for responsible individuals. We do not believe in freedom for madmen or children. The necessity of drawing a line between responsible individuals and others is inescapable, yet it means that there is an essential ambiguity in our ultimate objective of freedom. Paternalism is inescapable for those whom we designate as not responsible.”

Source: (1962), Ch. 2 The Role of Government in a Free Society, p. 33

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Milton Friedman 158
American economist, statistician, and writer 1912–2006

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