Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only read more

Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only the ideas of an Edison or a Ford but the ideas of innumerable anonymous people who figure out the design of supermarkets, the location of gasoline stations, and the million mundane things on which our material well-being depends. Societies which have more people carrying out physical acts and fewer people supplying ideas do not have higher standards of living. Quite the contrary.

Prices are important not because money is considered paramount but because prices are a fast and effective conveyor of information read more

Prices are important not because money is considered paramount but because prices are a fast and effective conveyor of information through a vast society in which fragmented knowledge must be coordinated.

It is your mind that matters economically, as much or more than your mouth or hands. In the long run, read more

It is your mind that matters economically, as much or more than your mouth or hands. In the long run, the most important economic effect of population size and growth is the contribution of additional people to our stock of useful knowledge. And this contribution is large enough in the long run to overcome all the costs of population growth.

Our whole evolution up to this point shows that human groups spontaneously evolve patterns of behavior, as well as patterns read more

Our whole evolution up to this point shows that human groups spontaneously evolve patterns of behavior, as well as patterns of training people for that behavior, which tend on balance to lead people to create rather than destroy. Humans are, on net balance, builders rather than destroyers.

Because bankers measure their self-worth in money, and pay themselves a lot of it, they think they're fine fellows and read more

Because bankers measure their self-worth in money, and pay themselves a lot of it, they think they're fine fellows and don't need to explain themselves.

A good manager is a man who isn't worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who read more

A good manager is a man who isn't worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him. My advice: Don't worry about yourself. Take care of those who work for you and you'll float to greatness on their achievements.

Those fighting for free enterprise and free competition do not defend the interests of those rich today. They want a read more

Those fighting for free enterprise and free competition do not defend the interests of those rich today. They want a free hand left to unknown men who will be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow...

Whether he admits it or not, a man has been brought up to look at money as a sign of read more

Whether he admits it or not, a man has been brought up to look at money as a sign of his virility, a symbol of his power, a bigger phallic symbol than a Porsche.

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, read more

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.