The Wall Street Journal-20080118-Compassionate Capitalism

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Compassionate Capitalism

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Edward Ortiz Jr., in his Jan. 12 Letter responding to "Liberty Theology" (op-ed, Dec. 31), has the nature of capitalism backward. He says that "the idea of capitalism. . . demands that the individual be selfish (i.e., looking to profit)." More accurate is Friedrich Hayek's observation that "Profit is the signal which tells us what we must do in order to serve people we do not know. By pursuing profit, we are as altruistic as we can possibly be, because we extend our concern to people who are beyond our range of personal conception." The fundamental concerns of the church are fully compatible with this more profound understanding of how markets work.

Ted Carman

Jamaica Plain, Mass.