Defending the Free Market

Sirico, a Catholic priest and co-founder of the Acton Institute, argues that the market economy is morally defensible on its own terms and not merely efficient. The book opens autobiographically — he was a left-wing activist before changing his mind — and proceeds through the standard contested cases: whether profit is exploitation, whether health care can be left to markets, whether environmental stewardship requires the state, what the church’s social teaching actually commits a believer to. His central claim is that free exchange presupposes and cultivates moral capacities — trust, promise-keeping, regard for the person on the other side of the trade — and that a system which treats people as capable of choosing respects their dignity in a way central direction cannot.

Why it’s on the list: It sits in McCord’s Capitalism, Morality, and Culture section among Weber, Henrich, Boettke and Rogan — the section that asks what a market order does to character and where its moral legitimacy comes from, rather than whether it produces growth.

Where I saw it: Brendan McCord’s Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, in the Ethics, Morality, and Personal Growth part, section Capitalism, Morality, and Culture — a structured curriculum shared on X on March 9, 2026 and saved to Kyle’s Apple Note “Books To Read”. The full 211-entry transcription is on The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.

Connections

• Capitalism — the system the book defends on moral grounds.
• Socialism — the position the author held before writing it and argues against here.
• Individualism — the account of the person the argument rests on.
• The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the curriculum this came from.