Chapter One: Question 3 - Devon Katz

The use of the market system has far-reaching implications for the future. Although most people won't notice any change in their financial situation and will almost certainly complain at the changes of prices as priorities shift, the world as a whole will become better off. I think John Green put it well with the analogy of slices of pizza: although no one person will get a larger percent of the pizza in their slice, the entire pizza will get bigger, effectively increasing the size of each slice. However, the author did express some negative ideas about human interaction within the market system; the shift of importance from people to profit, the holes in our "rational self-interest" and the quirks of perception. No system we know of or can currently dream up is without fault. Despite this Wheelan affirms that the free market and global economic cooperation found in capitalism makes it more appealing than command systems like that of the USSR, and at least the best of the worst is perfectly good when there is no better.