Society and the World

What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.

When I was young, I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know it is.

Every man lives by exchanging.

Every man lives by exchanging.

The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.

The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.

Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.

Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.

A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.

A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.

The great virtue of a free market system is that it does not care what color people are; it does not care what their religion is; it only cares whether they can produce something you want to buy. It is the most effective system we have discovered to enable people who hate one another to deal with one another and help one another.

The great virtue of a free market system is that it does not care what color people are; it does not care what their religion is; it only cares whether they can produce something you want to buy. It is the most effective system we have discovered to enable people who hate one another to deal with one another and help one another.

It [economics] is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions.

It [economics] is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions.

It is because it’s prohibited. See, if you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That’s literally true.

It is because it’s prohibited. See, if you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That’s literally true.

I’d rather be vaguely right than precisely wrong.

If an exchange between two parties is voluntary, it will not take place unless both believe they will benefit from it. Most economic fallacies derive from the neglect of this simple insight, from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie that one party can only gain at the expense of another.

The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.

The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.