“The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.” — Milton Friedman “When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will.” — Frédéric Bastiat

Free-Market Capitalism is the biggest peacemaker in the history of mankind. The Earth is abundant with natural resources, the only issue is they are scattered throughout the planet. How can we all enjoy the fruits and resources of our beautiful planet? Through the free-market.

Milton Friedman describes how in the story “I, Pencil” one man alone could not have made a pencil. Each component of the pencil comes from around the world. He describes how the wood may have come from the state of Washington. To cut the wood they used a saw, which is made with steel. That steel was made with iron ore. The graphite in the center of the pencil may have come from mines in South America. The point he is trying to convey is that in order to construct the pencil, such a simple object, thousands of people and labor hours were necessary, for that pencil to end up in your hands. People from all different backgrounds, who may practice different religions, who may hate each other, all came together. They did not come together out of benevolence. They were brought together through the free-market, which allowed you, the consumer, to be able to purchase that pencil for a trivial sum.

It’s beautiful really, how we are all connected in some way. Our lives are enriched through cooperation in the free-market. It is for this reason that I have faith in humanity and believe that we do not need government to solve our problems. We are so dependent on each other that regardless of differences in culture, language, beliefs, I see us coming together to combat global warming, epidemics, and war. All these things through the power of cooperation and the free-market. What a simple concept, people helping people.