Gary Becker: 'Basically an Optimist'—Still - WSJ.com

Gary Becker: 'Basically an Optimist'—Still - WSJ.com: "Mr. Becker explains: 'People tend to impute good motives to government. And if you assume that government officials are well meaning, then you also tend to assume that government officials always act on behalf of the greater good. People understand that entrepreneurs and investors by contrast just try to make money, not act on behalf of the greater good. And they have trouble seeing how this pursuit of profits can lift the general standard of living. The idea is too counterintuitive. So we're always up against a kind of in-built suspicion of markets. There's always a temptation to believe that markets succeed by looting the unfortunate.'"