Two Replies to DeMuth’s Version of National ConservatismUsually sure-footed, Christopher DeMuth slips into error when he writes that “American conservatism became unduly attached to libertarian individualism, unfettered markets and free trade as ends in themselves—which helped set the stage for anything-goes cultural corruption.” (“America’s Right Confronts the 21st Century,” op-ed, Nov. 19).
First, far from being unfettered, free markets teem with the time-tested and honest fetters of commercial competition. This competition regulates firm behavior far better than do government bureaucracies, which, when they aren’t restricting firms from serving consumers better, are protecting firms from the competition that alone keeps them efficient and responsive, not to government, but to consumers and suppliers.
Second, corruption is fueled not by free trade but protectionism. Under free trade, government has no favors to sell to firms that crave relief from having to satisfy consumers. Firms thus compete for profits honestly rather than lobby for rents mendaciously. Because protectionist interventions must be sold to the public as patriotic and well-intentioned rather than what they really are—privileges for the few at the larger expense of the many—protectionism contributes to cultural rot as well...............
https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-conservative-free-market-unfettered-capitalism-11669072197
