David D. Friedman, (1945- ) American economist, physicist, legal scholar, and libertarian theorist Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [1-3] of 3 David D. Friedman quotesDavid D. Friedman QuotesDavid D. Friedman The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations.~ David D. Friedman Property is a central economic institution of any society, and private property is the central institution of a free society.~ David D. Friedman Suppose one little old lady in ten carries a gun. Suppose that one in ten of those, if attacked by a mugger, succeeds in killing the mugger instead of being killed by him -- or shooting herself in the foot. On average, the mugger is much more likely to win the encounter than the little old lady. But -- also on average -- every hundred muggings produces one dead mugger. At those odds, mugging is an unprofitable business -- not many little old ladies carry enough money to justify one chance in a hundred of being killed getting it. The number of muggers declines drastically, not because they have all been killed but because they have, rationally, sought safer professions.~ David D. Friedman Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print