Here is a splendid essay by Anthony de Jasay, a very astute thinker who here ponders the relationship between morals and economic performance. His argument is that politicians resort to coercion to compel “moral” behavior on people (specifically, successful people) once their meddling has undermined the smooth efficiency of capitalism.
This reminds me of the line in My Fair Lady where Henry Higgins asks Alfred P. Doolittle if he has no morals. Doolittle replies, “Morals — can’t afford ’em.”
