The Quotation Of The Day Mailing List
Quotation of the Day for October 23, 2009
"..is there some society you know that doesn't run on greed? You think Russia doesn't run on greed? You think China doesn't run on greed? The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilisation have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn't construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn't revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you're talking about, the only cases in recorded history are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worst off, it's exactly in the kinds of societies that departed from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear; that there is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system."
- Milton Friedman, on Phil Donahue's talk show in the 1970's.
Submitted by: Z.D. Hora
Oct. 20, 2009