Did Nineteenth-CenturyCapitalistsWantthe Poorto Die? 7oppositionto them,wasCharlesDarwin,whosetheoryRiverasurmisedto be a rational-
izationfor capitalistcompetition.^20
Althoughhe did not employthe iconicexpressionsocialDarwinism—moreon that
expression’s originin chapter2—JohnMaynardKeynesdid invokethe imagethatfree
enterpriseis Darwiniansavagery.“Theparallelismbetweeneconomiclaissez-faireand
Darwinianism,” he wrote“... is nowseen,as HerbertSpencerwasforemostto recognise,
to be closeindeed.” AndLordKeynesdid not approve.He lamentsthat,insofaras free-
marketeconomistsinfluencedpublicpolicy,“Socialisticinterference” in the markethad
beenjudged“not merelyinexpedient,but impious,as calculatedto retardthe onward
movementof the mightyprocessby whichwe ourselveshad risen... out of the primeval
slimeof the Ocean.” LordKeynesrejectedthe ideathatthe complexadaptivesystemof
naturalselectionis comparableto the complexadaptivesystemof the market.^21
Morerecently,in 2003the politicalcommentatorDavidSirotaand real-estateinvestor
MinnieLushpropounded,“Proponentsoflaissez-fairepromulgatedDarwin’s theoryof
survivalof the fittestas the mostequitableandefficientmannerfor distributingU.S.
resources—untiltheywentbankrupt.Then,thoseproponentscriedout to the govern-
mentto savethem.” Unsurprisingly,LushandSirotaprovideno examplesof any free-
marketproponentseekinga taxpayer-fundedbailout.Theyneverthelessgo on, “The
socialreformsof the 1930swerethe resultof thesepleasfor governmentintervention.”^22
Theleft-wingbillionaireGeorgeSoros—himselfoftenaccusedof ruthlessnessas a
businessman—propounds,“The laissez-faireargumentagainstincomeredistributionin-
vokesthe doctrineof the survivalof the fittest.... ThissocialDarwinismis basedon an
outmodedtheoryof evolution.... I mentionthis becausesocialDarwinismis one of the
misconceptionsdrivinghumanaffairs.... The mainpointI wantto makeis that coopera-
tionis as mucha partof the systemas competition,and the slogan‘survivalof the fittest’
distortsthis fact.”^23 It is Sorosdistortingfactswhenhe presumescooperationandfree-
marketeconomicsto be mutuallyexclusive.Everyfree-marketadvocaterecognizesthat a
buyerandsellercooperatewitheachotherwhentheyagreeto a trade.Likewise,every
free-marketadvocaterecognizesthatan employerandemployeefreelycooperatewith
one another,just as a teamof employeescooperates.Theseformsof cooperationoccur
becauseeachparticipantrecognizesit is in her long-termself-interestto do so. Separate
firmsin the sameindustrycompetefor customers,but everylink in a singlesupplychain
cooperates.A suppliercooperateswitha manufacturer.A manufacturercooperateswith
its distributorsandwholesalers.A wholesalercooperateswitha retailer.Further,when
firmsin the sameindustrycompetefor the samecustomers,cooperationis involved.
SupposeRolfandI are in the sameindustry,andwe eachwishto haveYasmineas our
customer.We eachtry differentpricesandofferdifferentfeaturesto our waresto lure
Yasmine.ShouldYasminechooseRolf’s businessovermine,Yasmineand Rolfwill coop-
eratewithone another.Conversely,shouldYasminechooseme overRolf,Yasminewill
cooperatewithme. Therefore,in a competitionamongfirmsfor customersand clients,the
prizefor winningthe competitionis thatthe winnergetsto cooperatewiththe customer.
Therefore,competitionin the free marketresultsin multiplepartiescooperating.^24 Free-
marketadvocatesare unanimousin recognizingthatsuchcooperationexists,basedon
mutualself-interest.The anti-capitalists’ falsedichotomybetweenself-interestand coop-
erationis thereforelame—quitefrankly,unfitfor rationaldiscourse.Anyhow,fromhis
ownverbiage,Sorosconcludes,“Themainenemyof the opensociety,I believe,is no
longerthe communistbut the capitalistthreat.”^25
Unequivocally,the falsehoodthateveryfree-marketeris a socialDarwinistcontinues
to endure.Consequently,almostany invocationof thatmisconceptionwill catchmodern
free-marketerson the defensive.UponbeingcalledsocialDarwinists,mostfree-marketers
behavein a predictablefashion.Thefree-marketersfirstvociferouslyprotestthattheir