North took a rather dim view of human goodness that comported well with neoclassical assumptions about the inevitability of self-interested behavior. Because humans are inherently sinful, the best way to organize an economy is to channel their self-interest via the market. Free markets are also the best way to punish vice and reward virtue, to assure that everyone gets their just desserts. Government regulation is not only inefficient, on this view, it is also un-Christian.
