Every student, particularly those in colleges of businesses, should have a solid grounding in the workings of capitalism and free market forces. They should recognize that the success of the economy is not an accident but is the direct result of the operation of a market capitalist economy. They should bear witness to the reasons for the spread of this economic system throughout the world and the reasons for the demise of competing systems.
A compelling and continuing rationale for the study of market capitalism was given by Ayn Rand herself,
“The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as trader, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit . . . the government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders.”
In the same vein during the last three quarters of the century, others have applied this philosophy. The works of Hayek, Von Mises, Schumpeter, Friedman, Sowell, DiLorenzo, Gilder and Novak are among those, which have kept alive the ideal of the market economy first articulated by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations.
To fully comprehend market capitalism today’s students should also be familiar with its critics. No idea is fully grasped until it is tested and debated. Market capitalism today is under attack from a variety of directions. The sources of these critiques must be understood and the ability of market capitalism to answer them must be presented.
