The Machinery of Freedom (ISBN 0812690699) is a book of essays by libertarian economist David Friedman.

It describes the privatization of most government functions, explores the consequences of libertarian thought, and offers the author's personal statement about why he chose to be a libertarian.

Topics addressed in the book include the privatization of law (both legislation and enforcement), and the knotty problem of providing for public goods (such as national defense) in a purely libertarian society. This approach may be specifically described as anarcho-capitalist.