Self Interest or Society's Interests

Some economists like to say that markets are not perfect. That is true. Only God is perfect.

What free markets do is allow people to exchange what they have for something they want more. Thus free markets make most people better off than they were, and no one worse off. There is nothing wrong with that. Free markets might not be perfect, but they do not harm free people.

Some economists are more precise. They say that free markets do not always promote society’s interests. The problem with this is that society’s interests cannot be measured, so no one except God can know what is in society’s best interest.

So when economist say that free markets do not promote society’s best interests, they are really saying that the markets do not comply with their view of what is in society’s best interests. This is quite arrogant. They are claiming that they are better at judging what is in the interests of other people than those people themselves. The implication is that if they were given political power, they could make better decisions about what advance society’s interest, than the millions of people participating in free markets.

I am always suspicious of people who think they know what is best for others. These people are hostile to self interest. Yet they claim for their self, the ability to decide what is in the best interests of others. This is just a twisted form of self interest.