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Milton Friedman on Prices and what they do

To the despair of every economist, it seems almost impossible for most people other than trained economists to comprehend how a price system works.
Blaming the Obstetrician
Column, 1979, Newsweek (June 4, 1979); reprinted in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, June 7, 1979, pp. 14007 to 14008, introduced by Representative G. William Whitehurst of Virginia, who describes it as “an article by Milton Friedman, which appeared in the June 4, 1979, issue of Newsweek”, Congressional Record, June 7, 1979, pp. 14007 to 14008
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  1. I have found, over a long time, that some people are natural economists. They don’t take a course, but they understand—the principles seem obvious to them. Other people may have Ph.D.s in economics, but they’re not economists. They don’t think like an economist. Strange, but true.
    The Romance of Economics
    Interview, 2006, Interview by Tunku Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal; reprinted in Hoover Digest 2006 No. 4
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  2. I've asked people who were in favor of free markets and free enterprise, people who formerly had been of a different view, what caused them to change their mind. I'm talking particularly not about economists, not about professionals, but generally ordinary people, most of whom had been socialist or in favor of government control at one time and had come over to free markets. And two names have come up over and over again: Hayek on the one hand, The Road to Serfdom from Hayek, and Ayn Rand on the other, Atlas Shrugged and her other books.
    Commanding Heights: Milton Friedman interview
    Interview, 2000, PBS, “On Friedrich Hayek and the Mont Pelerin meeting,” interview conducted October 1, 2000
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  3. But as a matter of practical experience, no complicated society can be run solely on the command principle. It’s just impossible. And therefore, in one sense, the market is essential. There’s no way of avoiding it.
    The Open Mind
    Interview, 1977, The Open Mind, hosted by Richard Heffner, Episode “A Nobel Laureate on the American Economy” (May 3, 1977)
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