Nobel Prize-winning economist's free-market views went from the fringe to the mainstream.

Sandy Housman reports.

SANDY HAUSMAN: When he walked across the University of Chicago campus, where he spent his most productive academic years, Milton Friedman hardly turned heads. He was a short man, about five feet tall, balding and bespectacled. But when he spoke, the world listened, drawn to his energy, intellect and bold ideas.

Before Friedman, many experts believed government policies and programs were key to creating strong economies. Friedman argued free markets were more effective and efficient in almost every way.

When Friedman turned 90, the university held a conference to honor him. People lined up to be photographed with the Nobel prize winner whose ideas are now considered mainstream, but in the '50s, many considered Friedman a heretic, and fellow Nobel Laureate Jim Heckman says he was shunned by leading economists.

JIM HECKMAN: They wouldn't have him to a workshop. They wouldn't listen to his ideas. Whole generations of students grew up thinking this guy was a raving lunatic if they listened only to their teachers. Of course, students are smarter than their teachers. They can read.
And they did read Friedman's seminal work, Capitalism and Freedom. So did Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. All were impressed and called on Friedman for economic advice.

While Friedman will go down in history for his economic theory, his proudest moment came when President Richard Nixon took his advice and abolished the draft.
FRIEDMAN: It was such a major contribution to promoting freedom, and it has also done so much to limit the costs of war.
Why? Because, Friedman argued, those who join an all-volunteer army are willing to stay longer and train harder. Their morale tends to be better, and their fatalities fewer.