… is from page 451 of the second edition (1985) of Deirdre McCloskey’s brilliant textbook for courses in intermediate microeconomics, The Applied Theory of Price:
Most employers are cold-blooded about hiring, within narrow limits. This does not mean they are fair in the ordinary sense of the word, merely that they are cold-bloodedly efficient, which has its own charm. If a secretary does not do his job well, he will lose it. If he is obviously incapable of performing the job, he will not get it in the first place. If he is competent but demands special treatment of an expensive sort, again he will not get it. The discipline of the market stands ready to punish an employer who is anything but calculating in this way.
DBx: Indeed. The ‘undesirable’ worker’s best friend is the same best friend embraced by consumers, namely, market competition. Competition in this way creates, rather than undermines, inclusiveness and community. Competition in this way does not divide but, rather, unites. Market competition overwhelmingly does not coarsen us; it civilizes and polishes us.