The Capitalism Paradox: How Cooperation Enables Free Market Competition

There is no capitalism without cooperation.

In spite of its numerous obvious failures, many presidential candidates and voters are in favor of a socialist system for the United States. Socialism is consistent with our primitive evolved preferences, but not with a modern complex economy. One reason for the desire for socialism is the misinterpretation of capitalism.

The standard definition of free market capitalism is that it's a system based on unbridled competition. But this oversimplification is incredibly misleading--capitalism exists because human beings have organically developed an elaborate system based on trust and collaboration that allows consumers, producers, distributors, financiers, and the rest of the players in the capitalist system to thrive.

Paul Rubin, the world's leading expert on cooperative capitalism, explains simply and powerfully how we should think about markets, economics, and business--making this book an indispensable tool for understanding and communicating the vast benefits the free market bestows upon societies and individuals.

Paul H. Rubin is the Dobbs Professor of Economics at Emory University. He has published eleven books, over 100 articles, and numerous op-eds in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. He was President of the Southern Economic Association in 2012. He held several senior positions in the Reagan Administration. As of August 2019, he will be retired and professor emeritus.