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Eshelman: Free markets: The most advanced form of governance

by H. Jay Eshelman

We all want the same basic things: a society where people have real opportunity, dignity, security, and a genuine sense of belonging. The deepest paradox in modern politics is that the path to that humane, abundant society runs through free markets — not despite them.

A truly free market is not chaos or anarchy. It is the most sophisticated governance system humans have ever created. It works through spontaneous order: millions of individuals, each with their own unique knowledge, needs, and creativity, coordinating peacefully through voluntary exchange. Prices act as signals. Profit and Loss provide honest feedback. Innovation emerges organically. Poverty declines, not through mandates, but because the system relentlessly solves problems for profit.

This is decentralized governance at its finest — “big” in its reach and effectiveness, yet small in coercion. No king, no central committee, no politician can possibly possess the knowledge required to manage the billions of daily decisions in a complex society. History has proven this repeatedly. When governments try to run economies from the top down, they create shortages, corruption, and misery. When they step back and allow free people to cooperate voluntarily, prosperity and innovation flourish.

Why Free Enterprise Frightens Many Good People:

Many who support expansive government policies do so from a place of genuine care. They look at the messiness of markets — bankruptcies, inequality, economic ups and downs — and see dangerous chaos. They believe only strong central authority can protect the vulnerable. This fear is understandable, but it is based on a misunderstanding.

Free markets are not opposed to human connection. In fact, they depend on it. Commerce is fundamentally a social activity — people trading value because they trust and benefit one another. Markets thrive on relationships, reputation, and community. Not coercion.

The Necessary Safety Net:

A truly advanced free society does not leave people to fall forever through the cracks. Temporary mistakes and misjudgments are how we learn. Self-Determination Theory, for example, shows that humans need three things to flourish: autonomy (control over our lives), competence (mastery and progress – excellence, not perfection), and relatedness — a connection to others (faith, family, friends and neighbors).

This is where a spontaneous yet targeted, humane safety net belongs. Not in an ever-expanding welfare state that traps people in dependency, but in a system that voluntarily catches people temporarily while reinforcing dignity and connection. Vis-à-vis through:

– Strong communities, families, and voluntary charity (which markets make possible by creating surplus wealth).

– Portable, transparent safety mechanisms that support people during hard times without destroying their autonomy or competence.

– Policies that prioritize relatedness — encouraging local solutions, mutual aid, and genuine human connection rather than bureaucratic isolation.

The goal is not to punish success or equalize outcomes by force, but to ensure that the fewest people possible are abandoned, all while preserving the incentives that create widespread abundance. Again, the pursuit of excellence, not the false flag of perfection.

The Hard Truth:

Some people who push heavy central control are not misguided idealists. Some are political operators who benefit from the current system — a protection racket where government power is traded for votes, campaign money, and influence.  They thrive on dependency. They need people to believe only government can solve problems.

But we should not let the existence of bad actors define the vision. The question is simple: Do we trust free people, coordinating voluntarily with skin in the game, more than we trust concentrated political power?

Every major improvement in human welfare — dramatic reductions in global poverty, longer lifespans, technological miracles — has come from freeing human creativity, not controlling it. The abundant, connected society we all claim to want is only possible through free market governance.

The fear of freedom is an obstacle. But once we move past that fear and design systems that support both liberty and human connection, we will build something far better than the failing status quo.

In the Final Analysis:

This perspective is most certainly not mine alone. It’s based upon the insights of great thinkers across history — including but not limited to Aristotle, Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman ….and Henry David Thoreau, who famously wrote in Civil Disobedience:

“I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — ‘That government is best which governs not at all’; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.”

# contentMap.en
Eshelman: Free markets: The most advanced form of governance

by H. Jay Eshelman

We all want the same basic things: a society where people have real opportunity, dignity, security, and a genuine sense of belonging. The deepest paradox in modern politics is that the path to that humane, abundant society runs through free markets — not despite them.

A truly free market is not chaos or anarchy. It is the most sophisticated governance system humans have ever created. It works through spontaneous order: millions of individuals, each with their own unique knowledge, needs, and creativity, coordinating peacefully through voluntary exchange. Prices act as signals. Profit and Loss provide honest feedback. Innovation emerges organically. Poverty declines, not through mandates, but because the system relentlessly solves problems for profit.

This is decentralized governance at its finest — “big” in its reach and effectiveness, yet small in coercion. No king, no central committee, no politician can possibly possess the knowledge required to manage the billions of daily decisions in a complex society. History has proven this repeatedly. When governments try to run economies from the top down, they create shortages, corruption, and misery. When they step back and allow free people to cooperate voluntarily, prosperity and innovation flourish.

Why Free Enterprise Frightens Many Good People:

Many who support expansive government policies do so from a place of genuine care. They look at the messiness of markets — bankruptcies, inequality, economic ups and downs — and see dangerous chaos. They believe only strong central authority can protect the vulnerable. This fear is understandable, but it is based on a misunderstanding.

Free markets are not opposed to human connection. In fact, they depend on it. Commerce is fundamentally a social activity — people trading value because they trust and benefit one another. Markets thrive on relationships, reputation, and community. Not coercion.

The Necessary Safety Net:

A truly advanced free society does not leave people to fall forever through the cracks. Temporary mistakes and misjudgments are how we learn. Self-Determination Theory, for example, shows that humans need three things to flourish: autonomy (control over our lives), competence (mastery and progress – excellence, not perfection), and relatedness — a connection to others (faith, family, friends and neighbors).

This is where a spontaneous yet targeted, humane safety net belongs. Not in an ever-expanding welfare state that traps people in dependency, but in a system that voluntarily catches people temporarily while reinforcing dignity and connection. Vis-à-vis through:

– Strong communities, families, and voluntary charity (which markets make possible by creating surplus wealth).

– Portable, transparent safety mechanisms that support people during hard times without destroying their autonomy or competence.

– Policies that prioritize relatedness — encouraging local solutions, mutual aid, and genuine human connection rather than bureaucratic isolation.

The goal is not to punish success or equalize outcomes by force, but to ensure that the fewest people possible are abandoned, all while preserving the incentives that create widespread abundance. Again, the pursuit of excellence, not the false flag of perfection.

The Hard Truth:

Some people who push heavy central control are not misguided idealists. Some are political operators who benefit from the current system — a protection racket where government power is traded for votes, campaign money, and influence.  They thrive on dependency. They need people to believe only government can solve problems.

But we should not let the existence of bad actors define the vision. The question is simple: Do we trust free people, coordinating voluntarily with skin in the game, more than we trust concentrated political power?

Every major improvement in human welfare — dramatic reductions in global poverty, longer lifespans, technological miracles — has come from freeing human creativity, not controlling it. The abundant, connected society we all claim to want is only possible through free market governance.

The fear of freedom is an obstacle. But once we move past that fear and design systems that support both liberty and human connection, we will build something far better than the failing status quo.

In the Final Analysis:

This perspective is most certainly not mine alone. It’s based upon the insights of great thinkers across history — including but not limited to Aristotle, Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman ….and Henry David Thoreau, who famously wrote in Civil Disobedience:

“I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — ‘That government is best which governs not at all’; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.”