The Liberal Case for Markets

If liberals actually care about making poor people better off, then there is no better system for accomplishing this than the free market. Life expectancy in capitalist countries is much higher than in socialist or communist ones.

Usually, political debate with my peers ends in impasse; but I still do it, because an unquestioned viewpoint is never valid. As someone whose broader ideology began in fiscal conservatism, I have always asked with genuine curiosity why my liberal peers believe in their economic platform. And although I have yet to be persuaded leftward, I have come to understand that fiscal liberals have principled intentions.

At the core of liberal ideals are values of fairness, liberty, and above all, equality. It makes sense, therefore, that a liberal economic policy should seek to generate prosperity not just for the whole—but primarily for society’s least fortunate. Politically, this has been manifested in ideas of big government and regulation. But if the liberal objective is to prioritize a moral outcome, then history and academia tell us the most “liberal” system is in fact capitalism.

At its most tangible level, the free market has given rise to the greatest degree of economic prosperity and development. Since the Industrial Revolution, the world’s economic superpowers have unfailingly been those driven by free enterprise. It is easy to see why competing businesses run by motivated individuals create more aggregate wealth than a sluggish, centralized bureaucracy.