The Civilization of Commerce

Over the past ten years, we have witnessed a sever weakening of the commitment to market economies in the United States and other Western nations that prevailed between the mid-1970s and the late-2000s. While few are advocating socialism, economic planning and interventionism are back in vogue. One reason for free markets falling out of favor is to be found among free market thinkers themselves. For decades, their emphasis and strength lay in tough-minded policy-criticism and advocacy. An overwhelming focus on such matters, however, has left the case for markets vulnerable to those criticizing dynamic market economies on economic and normative grounds. Prominent advocates of interventionism insist that free markets absolutize liberty and efficiency at the expense of other values like community and solidarity. This has produced, market skeptics contend, social atomization, materialism, and the commodification of everything. For the most part, the response of free market thinkers has been to double down on policy responses. Such advocacy is essential but insufficient, shown by the cultural and economic dysfunctionalities (not to mention the colossal public debt) generated by these policies. The Civilization of Commerce moves beyond policy to develop a powerful civilizational argument which paves the way for a more substantial remaking of the case for markets capable of countering today's resurgent interventionism.