The visible hand

The fact that each man, in pursuing his own self-interest, fur­thers the interest of everyone else, is a conclusion of economic analysis, not an assumption on which the analysis is grounded.

... says Rothbard in Man, Economy and State (chapter 12). Many people think that the reverse is true, that economics assume that the interest of "everyone else" should be furthered by allowing economic freedom. It is the other way around. We should allow economic freedom on its own merits - a study of economics shows that this will also lead to the greatest possible prosperity for everyone. Adam Smith's "invisible hand" is not a prerequisite for a free market, but created by it. This is worth remembering.