--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Capitalism is not only a better form of…" description: "\"Capitalism is not only a better form of organizing human activity than any deliberate design, any attempt to organize it to satisfy particular preferen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_activity_capitalism-is-not-only-a-better-form-of_2399771.jpg" --- # Capitalism is not only a better form of organizing human… ![“Capitalism is not only a better form of organizing human activity than any deliberate design, any attempt to organize it to satisfy particular preferences, to aim at what people regard as beautiful or pleasant order, but it is also the indispensable condition for just keeping that population alive…” quote by Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_activity_capitalism-is-not-only-a-better-form-of_2399771.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_activity_capitalism-is-not-only-a-better-form-of_2399771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_activity_capitalism-is-not-only-a-better-form-of_2399771.jpg) > “Capitalism is not only a better form of organizing human activity than any deliberate design, any attempt to organize it to satisfy particular preferences, to aim at what people regard as beautiful or pleasant order, but it is also the indispensable condition for just keeping that population alive which exists already in the world. I regard the preservation of what is known as the capitalist system, of the system of free markets and the private ownership of the means of production, as an essential condition of the very survival of mankind.” [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free markets are essential for human survival and societal order, more effective than any planned system. **In simple terms:** Free markets are crucial for survival. Key Takeaway Support and protect free market institutions. Themes economics freedom survival politics Mood analytical critical Type philosophical economic When to use this quote - policy making - economic development - education - public discourse Key Concepts liberalism spontaneous order property rights resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of market solutions? - How can we address market failures? A Different Perspective Overlooks market failures and inequality issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Capitalism Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-better-939410/) [Capitalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalist/) [Capitalist Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalist-free-6006406/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Free market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-market/) [Human activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-activity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Known Capitalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-capitalist-6006408/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Organize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organize/) [Ownership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ownership/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pleasant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasant/) [Population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Survival Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-mankind-6006407/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The purer the application of socialism, the worse the results, the purer the application of capitalism, the better the results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-purer-the-application-of-socialism-the-worse-the-results-the/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that "the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow with the advance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/ever-since-the-beginning-of-modern-science-the-best-minds-have/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [I would not see our candle blown out in the wind. It is a small thing, this dear gift of life handed us mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-would-not-see-our-candle-blown-out-in-the-wind-it-is-a-small-thing/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Water is one of the basic needs of survival of mankind and water can destroy it, too. That is the power of NATURE. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-khanna/water-is-one-of-the-basic-needs-of-survival-of-mankind-and-water-can/) [Vikas Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-khanna/) > [It is generally my thesis then to insist on the importance of imagination in sex, to insist that the practice of sex, as performed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-norman/it-is-generally-my-thesis-then-to-insist-on-the-importance-of/) [John Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-norman/) > [The usefulness of mathematics in furthering the sciences is commonly acknowledged: but outside the ranks of the experts there is little inquiry into its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-turnbull/the-usefulness-of-mathematics-in-furthering-the-sciences-is-commonly/) [Herbert Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-turnbull/) > [Every change in conditions will make necessary some change in the use of resources, in the direction and kind of human activities, in habits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/every-change-in-conditions-will-make-necessary-some-change-in-the-use/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Justice, like liberty and coercion, is a concept which, for the sake of clarity, ought to be confined to the deliberate treatment of men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/justice-like-liberty-and-coercion-is-a-concept-which-for-the-sake-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [This means that to entrust to science - or to deliberate control according to scientific principles - more than scientific method can achieve may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/this-means-that-to-entrust-to-science-or-to-deliberate-control/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [There is perhaps no single factor contributing so much to people's frequent reluctance to let the market work as their inability to conceive how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/there-is-perhaps-no-single-factor-contributing-so-much-to-people-s/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The central problem of management is how spontaneous interaction of people within a firm, each possessing only bits of knowledge, can bring about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-central-problem-of-management-is-how-spontaneous-interaction-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [All human activities, professions, programs, and institutions must henceforth be judged primarily by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore, or foster a mutually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/all-human-activities-professions-programs-and-institutions-must/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/although-profoundly-inconsequential-the-zen-experience-has/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [All human activity is prompted by desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-human-activity-is-prompted-by-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[On Cantor's work:\] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/on-cantor-s-work-the-finest-product-of-mathematical-genius-and-one-of/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) ## More by Friedrich August von Hayek > [The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-system-of-private-property-is-the-most-important-guaranty-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [By the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/by-the-time-any-view-becomes-a-majority-view-it-is-no-longer-the-best/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Freedom can be preserved only if it is treated as a supreme principle which must not be sacrificed for particular advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/freedom-can-be-preserved-only-if-it-is-treated-as-a-supreme-principle/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly moral to defend them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/should-our-moral-beliefs-really-prove-to-be-dependent-on-factual/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-true-that-the-virtues-which-are-less-esteemed-and-practiced-now/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Unlike the rationalism of the French Revolution, true liberalism has no quarrel with religion, and I can only deplore the militant and essentially illiberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/unlike-the-rationalism-of-the-french-revolution-true-liberalism-has/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage… Unless we can make the philosophic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/we-must-make-the-building-of-a-free-society-once-more-an-intellectual/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The central problem of management is how spontaneous interaction of people within a firm, each possessing only bits of knowledge, can bring about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-central-problem-of-management-is-how-spontaneous-interaction-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The discussions of every age are filled with the issues on which its leading schools of thought differ. But the general intellectual atmosphere of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-discussions-of-every-age-are-filled-with-the-issues-on-which-its/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The Nobel Prize confers on an individual an authority which in economics no man ought to possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-nobel-prize-confers-on-an-individual-an-authority-which-in/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [ \[Socialistic\] economic planning, regulation, and intervention pave the way to totalitarianism by building a power structure that will inevitably be seized by the most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/socialistic-economic-planning-regulation-and-intervention-pave-the/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [It is rather a problem of how to secure the best use of resources known to any of the members of society, for ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-rather-a-problem-of-how-to-secure-the-best-use-of-resources/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The state itself becomes more and more identified with the interests of those who run things than with the interests of the people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-state-itself-becomes-more-and-more-identified-with-the-interests/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [We must face the fact that the preservation of individual freedom is incompatible with a full satisfaction of our views of distributive justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/we-must-face-the-fact-that-the-preservation-of-individual-freedom-is/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Human envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/human-envy-is-certainly-not-one-of-the-sources-of-discontent-that-a/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) [Explore all 244 Friedrich August von Hayek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Capitalism is not only a better form of organizing human activity than any deliberate design, any attempt to organize it to satisfy particular preferences, to aim at what people regard as beautiful or pleasant order, but it is also the indispensable condition for just keeping that population alive which exists already in the world. 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