In contrast to these skeptical views, others argue for the ethical merits of market-driven outcomes posited on the value preferences of individuals as reflected in their choices in a free marketplace. The ultimate arbiter of an economy’s ethics is, or should be, the material welfare of the individuals in a society.
The crux of the largely laissez-faire argument is that, because unencumbered competitive markets reflect the value preferences of consumers, the resulting price signals direct a nation’s savings into those capital assets that maximize the production of goods and services most valued by consumers.