Charles, as usual, I have to disagree with you, in this case, over your interpretation of what I said.
I said Our capitalist system does not rely on people doing what is right. It instead assumes people are basically selfish, even evil,
I am talking here, not about personal morality or ethics, but about the market order. I am not saying that people should do the right thing or have ethics, only that Our capitalist system does not rely on that being the case. Furthermore, I (along with Hayek) would argue that people selfishly following their own self-interest accomplish more good than those who conscously attempt to act on altruistic motivations.
What makes predatory conduct wrong is the fact that the conduct in question is not profit-maximizing,
The point, which I think you missed, is that every businessman wants to eliminate competition, in every legal way possible.
So what is wrong with predatory conduct? Assuming it violates no other generally applicable law, nothing, unless you happen to be a monopolist.
So, if Gates "knows he did wrong" by trying to eliminate competitors, it can only be because he knows Microsoft is a monopoly. |
