Free markets are successful, in large part because of their capacity to clock up thousands of useful failures. Centrally planned economies are ineffective, on the other hand, because they lack this capacity. Markets, like other evolutionary systems, offer an antidote to our ignorance. They are not perfect, and often need government intervention to work properly. But well-functioning markets succeed because of a vital ingredient: adaptability. Different companies trying different things, with some failing and some surviving, add to the pool of knowledge. Cognitive dissonance is thwarted, in the
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