Milton Friedman's Influence On The World Of Economics

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“In addition to his intellect, he had a strong work ethic, an engaging personality, and an excellent sense of humor” (Ebenstein 1). This is what Lanny Ebenstein said when writing his biography on Milton Friedman. For those of you who don’t know who that is, (which is probably all of you) Milton Friedman was a very well known economist in the 1900’s. For those of you who don’t know what an economist is, an economist is an expert in the world of economics. Along with being an economist, he taught as a professor at many universities and wrote many books on the free market. Some of his most notable achievements include, the Nobel Prize for Economics, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science for Behavioral and Social Sciences. …show more content…

He influenced people to think the way he thought without much difficulty. The way he could persuade people to adopt his new ideas on economics was amazing, “Rare theorist whose influence is best measured not by the devotion of his followers-which can be extreme- but by the extent to which his ideas have altered the thinking of his opponents” (Ebenstein 180-181). Although his supporters never thought against Friedman, his opponents who thought different became supporters. He was looked at as a role model to everyone and a hero to countries that he changed. “Friedman was a towering intellect, and in the end that is how he was remembered: for the insight he conveyed and his ability to make others think things from anew” (241). His enormity of intelligence was great, but how he used his intelligence to educate and influence others is awe-inspiring. Not only was his influence strong in the US, but he was talked about all throughout the world. As I said before his influence on the Chilean economy was magnificent. “Friedman's influence is not restricted to the English speaking world. His work has been translated into more than twenty foreign languages. He is among the few American intellectuals to enter the international lexicon both academically and popularly” (212). The books he wrote were so popular that they were translated into different languages to give this powerful insight on the monetary system to different speaking nations around the globe. His dedication to sticking to his ideas and endorsing them shows his hard work and determination, “Although his views were considered out of the mainstream when he first enunciated them half a century ago, now, if they do not represent the majority view, they are at least no longer the opinion of an isolated and beleaguered minority” (3). For example, his theories on inflation have become very popular nowadays

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