A hundred years ago, only the richest Americans could afford a car that went barely 20 mph and broke down half the time. Now, thanks to the simple desire to make money selling cars, the convenience and freedom afforded by a car or motorcycle can be had by almost anyone. The most common confusion is thinking that capitalism just represents unthinking support for business. But that's not the case. In fact, one might say the same thing about the IMF and the World Bank.
Some studies show that big business has subtler incentives to subvert the market system.
The economist George Stigler showed that large corporations often actively seek regulation by the government, because they are better equipped to deal with stacks of forms and legions of bureaucrats than their smaller competitors. Supporting the free market does not commit one to supporting everything Bill Gates does. Of course, Hollywood has made millions obscuring that distinction with movies like Wall Street and Boiler Room . All of us act in our self-interest every day without being selfish. The singular wonder of the market system is just that even if everyone acts purely from self-interest, the only way to make a profit is to discover some need that other people suffer and fulfill it for a price.