A few weeks ago, I interviewed a guy on the subject of think tanks and their uses. He tried to recall a Milton Friedman passage. He didn’t know exactly where it came from, and I haven’t been able to find it. I’m hoping some well-read Cornerite can help out.
Here’s what my source said, more or less: “Milton Friedman once wrote that we write books and put them on shelves. Then something goes wrong, and some new policymaker looks for a new approach, and goes to those shelves. All of a sudden, an idea in one of those books has a chance.”
Does anybody know where Friedman may have written or said such a thing? If so, please contact me at nrorocks-at-yahoo.com.