January 22, 2008 3:58pm
If free markets are just a tool, then their morality comes from how we apply them. Herein lies the role of government, in setting up the rules and regulations for enterprise, the government is using free markets as a tool and in doing so is embedding our morals into that market. By putting a price on externalities we are giving moral weight to the operation of the market. It is through government that we as a people can shape and guide the force of free markets to do our bidding, and to do so with in a way that reflects our morals. While a perfectly free market is amoral, a regulated one need not be.