Callum Price: It seems ever more popular to try and pin the blame for any problem on capitalism

Callum Price is Director of Communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs.

A recent report for the United Nations’ Human Rights Council dedicated itself to investigating the role capitalism and ‘the corporate sector’ in the Israel-Gaza conflict. It concluded:

‘The corporate sector, including its executives, must be held to account, as a necessary step towards ending the genocide and disassembling the global system of racialized capitalism that underpins it.’

The two-state solution doesn’t get a mention.

Neither do the hostages.

Instead, it is capitalism that is the problem.

Anticapitalism disguised as other social justice causes is not new, but it does seem to be increasing. It has long been true of many environmental campaigns and voices. Rarely are pro-market solutions to the problem of a warming planet tolerated by the like of Extinction Rebellion or Greta Thunberg, who are more interested in tearing down the capitalist system and de-growth than they are in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

It is increasingly true in public health too. A new paper for the Institute of Economic Affairs by Dr Christopher Snowdon highlights just how prevalent this phenomenon is. He demonstrates how academics are forwarding anti-growth agendas under the guise of public health. Extreme anti-market views are not just the fringe views of a, predictably left-wing, minority. They are now mainstream in public health academia, right up to the WHO.

Snowdon points to several examples from highly-cited public health articles in well-regarded journals that argue public health problems are a symptom of our economic system and the free market.

One suggests issues are not caused by individual or anomalous corporate behaviour, but are rooted in ‘the very nature of for-profit corporation’ itself. Another claims public health ‘requires nothing short of a fundamental restructure of the global political and socio-economic system’, and ‘we have built a system where continuous growth… is now threatening public health far more seriously than the activities of any one industry’.

A WHO Europe report published in 2024 claimed that public health harms have increased because of ‘the shift to deregulated forms of capitalism and trade liberalisation in which the promotion of free markets and economic exchange take precedence over people and their health’.

Academics suggest shifting the narrative focus in discussing public health problems from the product (eg. alcohol) or the consumer, to the ‘vector’ – by which they mean the industry. The responsibility lies not with individuals, but with business and corporations.

This should be an anathema to conservatives and liberals alike. Economic growth is the rising tide that lifts all boats, that gives people the resources, choices, agency and opportunities they need to improve their lives. Businesses make their money by responding to the demand of individuals. Individuals’ needs and wants are served in a free, competitive market that drives down costs and increases choice.

That is not to defend all corporate action.

Free market economists are some of the most visceral opponents of crony capitalism and the capture of policymakers and regulators by vested interests. But the difference between the anti and pro market views here is choice. For those who believe in the market, choice is key. People are better off the more choices they have. For the anti-capitalists, the opposite is true.

The rise in anticapitalist activism disguised as health science is a problem for a number of reasons. Firstly, because of the status that public health is increasingly given in society. Public health intellectuals and academics are held in high regard by politicians and opinion formers, especially since the pandemic. But Snowdon clearly demonstrates how much of modern public health is fundamentally political.

Secondly, because it is counter-productive. The best and most effective solutions to most problems are market-based. Economic incentives and the power and ingenuity of the private sector are two of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenal. These solutions share that Thatcherite trait of dealing with the way the world is, not the way we wish it to be.

Putting a price on the negative externalities of carbon usage through a carbon tax nudges business in new, greener directions through the price system. The increasing demand for healthy alternatives has led to an increase in the supply of cheap, healthy, and tasty food options. New breakthroughs in science, led by the private sector, have led to the development of life-changing drugs like ozempic that are helping bare down on obesity. These problems are being solved not just within the capitalist system, but by it.

Concrete solutions provided in the academic literature are not so forthcoming. Public health advocates remain reliant on the old reliables of banning and controlling products and advertising. But for all of the talk about systemic economic change there is rarely much meat on the bones in terms of practical policy proposals.

Which brings us to the final reason the move against capitalism is a problem. Capitalism works. Not just in solving these problems, but in making the world a better place. It is a net good for society. In the capitalist period there has been an unprecented improvement in life across the globe. Infant mortality has fallen off a cliff, as has the proportion of people in poverty.  Life expectancy, food supply, literacy rates, and wealth have risen rapidly.

Capitalism needs a radical, and explicit defense in political and public life, including from our politicians. That is not to say there are not obvious problems that need fixing, from home ownership to the welfare trap. But rather to say that the system that has been so successful so far does not need to be ripped up in order to solve problems in public health, the environment, or the Middle East. The evidence shows that free markets are the solution, not the problem.

The post Callum Price: It seems ever more popular to try and pin the blame for any problem on capitalism appeared first on Conservative Home.