While previous members of the Mont Pèlerin Society had labored to develop philosophical models that would prove palatable to their more moderate contemporaries, Friedman did not hesitate to emphasize those points where his perspective diverged from established views. “I believe that people are unduly deterred by the prospect of publicly taking an unpop u lar position,” he asserted in a retrospective at the end of his career. “As someone who has repeatedly done so over a very long period, I believe that doing so seldom involves high costs.” Friedman built his professional and public career on the advocacy of positions that ran contrary to received opinion, and he endured the resulting controversies to fi nd himself regaled with private wealth, academic honors, and lasting po liti cal recognition.

Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, loc. 391