The three men I admire most in my tribe are Friedrich August Hayek, Milton Friedman and James McGill Buchanan. All three were awarded the Nobel prize in economics: Hayek in 1974, Friedman in 1976, and Buchanan in 1986.
Though I never had the good fortune to meet any of them, I am lucky enough to have learned from their wisdom, humanity and scholarship through their books, papers, lectures and interviews. Being able to appreciate their insights is definitely what I like about being an economist. I am proud to belong to that tribe.
It is because of them that I learned the value of liberty. Freedom matters not just for its instrumental role in producing material prosperity but also because being free is what being human is about. One can exist in comfort but still be subject to the will of others. Live free or die.
That is the state motto of New Hampshire. The source is believed to be Patrick Henry’s 1775 March speech in which he said, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
A few years ago I had made serious plans to move to New Hampshire from Delaware but thanks to the evil Dr Fauci and his Chinese virus, that did not materialize. Continue reading “Milton Friedman on Responsibility”
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 