ABSTRACT
The expansion of wealth necessitated a movement away from trade guilds, which restrained the dynamism of markets. Keynes's point is that as wealth increases and the economic problem come closer to being solved it is reasonable to be less tolerant of competitive markets and more ready to interfere with their functioning. A highly competitive economy enforces moral minimalism by selecting against those with scruples. If amoralism, or at best moral minimalism, is the behaviour characteristic of entrepreneurs, then one would expect the general public to regard markets and entrepreneurs with suspicion or even mild contempt, and one might well expect a good society to be characterized by the predominance of institutions other than competitive markets. Entrepreneurs are susceptible to a kind of moral minimalism, where moral standards are set by the behaviour of the worst. Successful entrepreneurs will be driven by self-interest, without any pretence of aiming at the public good.
