Free to Lose: Scholarship, Advocacy, and Media in the Career of Milton Friedman

What is the relationship between academic economics and libertarianism? As a step towards this larger question, this paper examines several episodes in the career of Milton Friedman, a crossover figure who was both an influential economist and a widely known public spokesperson for libertarian ideas within the broader conservative movement. While libertarianism potentially offered Friedman an engaged audience beyond the academy, in its more activist and political forms libertarianism threatened to undermine Friedman’s scholarly values and reputation, particularly early in his career. The paper shows how Friedman reconciled these tensions through popular media, particularly the PBS television series Free To Choose.