, Columnist
The Free Market Doesn’t Guarantee Freedom for Everyone
Racial discrimination was actually profitable before it was banned in 1964. This is relevant for civil-rights policy today.
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Does the free market ensure freedom? There’s a common perception that it does — that if, for example, a business discriminates against people of a certain race or sexual orientation, it will bring punishment upon itself in the form of higher expenses and fewer customers. Competitors will profit by meeting the unsatisfied demand.
Unfortunately, the history of Black Americans demonstrates that the market doesn’t always deliver the freedom it promises — a conclusion that has implications for addressing discrimination today.