Markets, Competition, and Cooperation
Markets have done anything but unleash social animosity
To the confusion of communists, big, open, and profitable markets have made people less competitive with one another and hence less willing to act on their violent impulses and tendencies.
First markets have made it more rewarding -- both monetarily, societally, and intellectually -- to cooperate with people than to harm them.
Which was not always the case.
Prior to 17th century industrialism bandits, warmongers, and imperialists had the incentive to -- largely because of the relatively small size of their commercial marketplaces -- plunder others because doing so would allow them to become wealthier than what they could expect to be if they worked hard or became entrepreneurs.
Second markets gave birth to the middle class.
Which, being neither dependent on the largesse of the government, nor slaves to their elitist desire for power and luxury, are the only social class capable of advocating for individual sovereignty and personal independence.
Third, the large number of goods and services big, open, and profitable markets offer provide the material comfort necessary to eliminate the frustrations of poverty including violence and lawbreaking.
Fourth the desire of the capitalist to make markets ever more profitable eliminates the justification for competition -- i.e. war -- between nations.
Fifth markets enrich people to the point of naturally making them more willing to be more charitable, and hence more cooperative, to others.
Thus capitalism has produced a major miracle -- to make the average man more like an angel and less like the murderous monsters of our pre-industrial past.
For that even latte sipping socialists should give praise.
Zigmund Reichenbach has an M.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University and works as an advocate for less government. You can help him combat bad ideas in politics and philosophy by donating to his work at https://ko-fi.com/zigmundreichenbach .
Follow him on X at @zreichenbach1!