Murray N. Rothbard book What Has Government Done to Our Money?
What Has Government Done to Our Money? (1980)
Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few (2015)
Murray N. Rothbard book What Has Government Done to Our Money?
What Has Government Done to Our Money? (1980)
“The free market punishes irresponsibility. Government rewards it.”
Harry Browne (1933–2006) American politician and writer
Source: Liberty A to Z (2004), p. 76
“The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government.”
Milton Friedman book Capitalism and Freedom
Source: Capitalism and Freedom (1962), Ch. 1 The Relation Between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom, 2002 edition, page 15
Context: The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government. On the contrary, government is essential both as a forum for determining the "rule of the game" and as an umpire to interpret and enforce the rules decided on.
Matt Taibbi (1970) author and journalist
Source: Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
John Perry Barlow (1947–2018) American poet and essayist
Planet JH Weekly interview (2005)
Context: I'm a free-marketeer. I believe in free markets, but... sometimes you have things that look like free markets but aren't because of artificial reasons. I'm not very happy with the current state of what calls itself free market economy in the world because you've got all these grotesque monopolies that are able to game the system in a way that's to their advantage by virtue of their power, and that's not a free market. A real free market has some kind of countervailing influence from the government to keep a monopoly in check, but this government... it's not about free marketing principles, it's about greed pure and simple. And this government wants to assure that the other people that they went to college with get just as rich as they do. This country is going to make Mexico look like Sweden inside of ten years in terms of wealth distribution, because there are no countervailing forces. They've eliminated tax basically for the ultra-rich, they've eliminated any control over monopolies, the greedy have free reign and its just going to be the super rich and the peasants.
Nicholas Barr (1943) British economist
Source: Economics Of The Welfare State (Fourth Edition), Chapter 4, State Intervention, p. 93
Warren Buffett (1930) American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist
To Barack Obama, as quoted in The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2006), Ch. 5
Context: The free market’s the best mechanism ever devised to put resources to their most efficient and productive use. … The government isn’t particularly good at that. But the market isn’t so good at making sure that the wealth that’s produced is being distributed fairly or wisely. Some of that wealth has to be plowed back into education, so that the next generation has a fair chance, and to maintain our infrastructure, and provide some sort of safety net for those who lose out in a market economy. And it just makes sense that those of us who’ve benefited most from the market should pay a bigger share. … When you get rid of the estate tax, you’re basically handing over command of the country’s resources to people who didn’t earn it. It’s like choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the children of all the winners at the 2000 Games.