MILTON FRIEDMAN, R.I.P.

The death of a prominent person at a late age usually presents little
challenge for an obituary writer. In most cases, the decedent's
contributions to society were etched in the historical record long
ago. And so the obituarist need only fill in small details, such as
the cause of death and the number of grandchildren. Yet it will not be
nearly that easy for wordsmiths seeking to commemorate the life of
economist Milton Friedman, who died yesterday at the age of 94. For he
continued to make major contributions to the protection of liberty
well into his final years.

Mr. Friedman may be best known for his monetarist economic theories --
which seem intuitive to most economists now, but were decidedly out of
fashion when Mr. Friedman became their champion over 50 years ago. For
those who aren't versed in the jargon of economics, however, it may be
enough to know that to the end, Friedman remained a vigorous advocate
for school vouchers as a means of freeing disadvantaged children from
the shackles of public eduction. People and principle mattered more to
Mr. Friedman than numbers and equations.

He also waged a war of ideas against statism across the world,
pointing out the link between economic and political freedom. More
controversially, he correctly argued for the legalization of drugs in
order to destroy organized crime's monopoly over an ineradicable
market. As in all matters, Mr. Friedman put greater stock in personal
responsibility than government intervention.

Unlike other legendary libertarians, such as Ludwig von Mises and
Friedrich Hayek, Mr. Friedman was born at the right time and of the
right temperament to make an impression in mainstream media -- with
his talent for quick witticisms, he came off well on television. And
despite his intelligence and economic training, he could write in the
sort of plain English that made Newsweek readers look forward to his
regular column.

Very few of us would enjoy the quality of life and independence that
we currently do if not for Milton Friedman, and his influence will
undoubtedly continue to spur the advance of liberty across the globe.
In truth, it remains too soon to be writing Mr. Friedman's obituary.