For one thing, mutually advantageous exchange is not the worst ethical school. It is better than the violent pride of aristocrats or the violent insolence of bureaucrats. And in economic liberalism, the human desire to excel is provided millions of honorable paths, from model railway building to show business, as against in illiberal societies the narrow path to eminence at the court or politburo or army. We do not lose our souls in commerce, but cultivate them. The military, admired nowadays even in liberal societies, is commended daily for its “service.” But every economic act among consenting adults is service. The ethical habits of commerce are expressed daily in the way an American shopkeeper greets his customer: “How can I help you?”
-Deirdre McCloskey ( “The Core of Liberty Is Economic Liberty”)
BeCAUSE we have Freedom, we have CHOICE. Those offering products must PLEASE us and help us fill a need, otherwise we can just leave. Progressive Totalitarians hate this fact that we can, indeed, choose what is best for ourselves (after all, they “gave” us the unchoice of Obamacare in which Government took away, pretty much, our choices in a Free Marketplace and demanded that we purchase only from their own faux one and only under their regulations.
And they wonder why we rebelled?
(H/T: Cafe Hayek)
