The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

358 THE FREEMAN Junepoverty in more and more placesand to an increasingly marked extentif it is merely permitted todo so.In a previous article ("FalseRemedies for Poverty," The Freemain,February, 1971), I explainedby contrast how Capitalism performsits miracles. It turns outthe tens of thousands of diversecommodities and services in theproportions in which they aresocially most wanted, and it solvesthis incredibly complex problemthrough the institutions of privateproperty, the free market, andthe existence of money - throughthe interrelations of supply anddemand, costs and prices, profitsand losses. And, of course, throughthe force of competition. Competitionwill tend constantly to bringabout the most economical andefficient method of production possiblewith existing technologyandthen it will start devising astill more efficient technology. Itwill reduce the cost of existingproduction, it will hnprove products,it will invent or discoverwholly new products, as individualproducers try to think what productconsumers would buy if itexisted.Those who are least successfulin this competition will lose theiroriginal capital and be forced outof the field; those who are mostsuccessful will acquire throughprofits more capital to increasetheir production still further. Socapitalist production tends constantlyto be drawn into the handsof those who have shown that theycan best meet the wants of theconsumers.Those who truly want to helpthe poor will not spend their daysin organizing protest marches orrelief riots, or even in repeatedprotestations of sympathy. Norwill their charity consist merelyin giving money to the poor to bespent for immediate consumptionneeds. Rather will they themselveslive modestly in relation to theirincome, save, and constantly investtheir savings in sound existingor new enterprises to createnot only more jobs but betterpayingones ("Private Wealth,Public Purpose," The Freeman,December, 1970).The irony is that the very miraclesbrought about in·our age bythe capitalist system have givenrise to expectations that keep runningahead even of the acceleratingprogress, and so have led to anincredibly shortsighted impatiencethat threatens to destroy the verysystem that has made the expectationspossible.If that destruction is to be prevented,education in the truecauses of economic improvementmust be intensified beyond anythingyet attempted. *