ABSTRACT
Since ancient times in both East and West the exercise of individual freedom has been inseparable from the expansion of the market, driven by the search for profit. This force, namely capitalism, has stimulated human creativity and aggression in ways that have produced immense benefits. In the era of globalization since the 1970s capitalism has broadened its scope and these benefits have become even greater. Human beings were liberated to an even greater degree than hitherto from the tyranny of nature, from control by others over their lives. The driver of technical changes during the technological revolution in the European Middle Ages was the pursuit of profit through sales in the market. Economists have tended to polarize in their view of the inherent tendencies of competitive markets in relation to industrial concentration. The liberalization of international capital movements was followed by a large increase in the stock of foreign direct investment in both developed and developing countries.
