Friedman studiously represented his freemarket philosophy as a manifestation of respect for the perspectives and preferences of average individuals, and worked to convince his sympathizers to adopt a similar approach. In a 1960 meeting of the Mont Pèlerin Society, he excoriated his colleagues for demonstrating a “lack of respect for the masses of the people” in frequent statements that “depreciate[d]” them and assumed that they were “ignorant.” He continued: “I think, if we look at the fact, we will come to the conclusion that the situation is almost the reverse. If by and large we ask why has freedom been preserved in our society, it is largely because the masses of the people has [sic] stubbornly stuck to basic values. . . . If the masses of the people would change and were as easily moved as the intellectual classes, I do not think, we would be living in a free society.

Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, loc. 486