RIP: Milton Friedman
Brilliant in his intellect, broad in his thinking, and often controversial in his approach, Milton Friedman was one of a handful of economists who were considered bigger than their field. Friedman, who died yesterday, was a free-market fundamentalist who used economics to drive social and political change. I was not always in sync with his hardline libertarian views (the legalisation of drugs, opposition to public education etc) and his absolute disdain for government intervention, but the man's influence in pushing the free market is undoubted. Reagan and Thatcher called him an advisor and he was instrumental in laying the platform for modern economic thought. He will be missed.