Markets Need Moral Capital

Markets do not operate in a moral vacuum: economic exchange requires norms, habits, and institutions (what Gregg calls moral capital) that sustain trust, responsibility, and civic goods. Arguing from Adam Smith and Hayek, Gregg contends that freedom and market institutions presuppose and help cultivate the conditions for a flourishing civilization rather than inherently eroding it. — This reframes debates about tariffs, industrial policy, and cultural regulation by moving the argument from narrow economic efficiency to whether policy fosters or destroys the moral preconditions markets need.