--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Free competition exists inside shelters…" description: "\"Free competition exists inside shelters of law, custom, insurance, political approval, and carefully protected status.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png" --- # Free competition exists inside shelters of law, custom… ![“Free competition exists inside shelters of law, custom, insurance, political approval, and carefully protected status.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png) > “Free competition exists inside shelters of law, custom, insurance, political approval, and carefully protected status.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Competition is shaped by legal, cultural, and political frameworks that protect certain interests. **In simple terms:** Competition is limited by laws and customs. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden constraints in competition. Themes competition law custom politics power status Mood critical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - business markets - political campaigns - insurance industry - legal disputes Key Concepts social dynamics regulation institutional bias Questions to Reflect On - How do these protections affect fairness? - Can true free competition exist? A Different Perspective Competition may be stifled by these protections, reducing fairness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Competition Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition-exists-1186969/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Free Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-competition-617628/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Insurance Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insurance-political-5410252/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Protected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protected/) [Shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelter/) [Shelters Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelters-law-5410251/) ## Related quotes > [It's important for parents to put kids in positions where they can succeed and to teach competition because competition exists not only in sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-allen/it-s-important-for-parents-to-put-kids-in-positions-where-they-can/) [Ray Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-allen/) > [Competition exists everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raashi-khanna/competition-exists-everywhere/) [Raashi Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raashi-khanna/) > [Competition exists to choose who gets the prize when the prize can’t be shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-harvey/competition-exists-to-choose-who-gets-the-prize-when-the-prize-can-t/) [Andrew Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-harvey/) > [I must continue to work hard to help my teammates. Competition always exists in football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiago-silva/i-must-continue-to-work-hard-to-help-my-teammates-competition-always/) [Thiago Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiago-silva/) > [So long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/so-long-as-it-stays-within-the-rules-of-the-game-which-is-to-say/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [I think the touchstone is to give consumers a full, fair choice without the power of a monopoly operating system pushing them in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-the-touchstone-is-to-give-consumers-a-full-fair-choice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Measures which serve to abridge the free competition of foreign Articles, have a tendency to occasion an enhancement of prices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/measures-which-serve-to-abridge-the-free-competition-of-foreign/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The concept of free competition enforced by law is a grotesque contradiction in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-concept-of-free-competition-enforced-by-law-is-a-grotesque/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The public firm can nowhere maintain itself in free competition with the private firm; it is possible today only where it has a monopoly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-public-firm-can-nowhere-maintain-itself-in-free-competition-with/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“Those fighting for free enterprise and free competition do not defend the interests of those rich today. They want a free hand left to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/those-fighting-for-free-enterprise-and-free-competition-do-not-defend-2/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Like all other contracts, wages should be left to the fair and free competition of themarket, and should never be controlled by the interference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/like-all-other-contracts-wages-should-be-left-to-the-fair-and-free/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [ \[What Hayek\] does not see, or will not admit, \[is\] that a return to "free" competition means for the great mass of people a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/what-hayek-does-not-see-or-will-not-admit-is-that-a-return-to-free/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Free competition is worth more to society than it costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/free-competition-is-worth-more-to-society-than-it-costs/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Those fighting for free enterprise and free competition do not defend the interests of those rich today. They want a free hand left to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/those-fighting-for-free-enterprise-and-free-competition-do-not-defend/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“There is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/there-is-one-and-only-one-social-responsibility-of-business-to-use-it/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Approval quotes > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tehyi-hsieh/lean-too-much-on-the-approval-of-people-and-it-becomes-a-bed-of-thorns/) [Tehyi Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tehyi-hsieh/) > [But I always reassure them that as far as my contractual rights can go, I will protect them and make sure that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/but-i-always-reassure-them-that-as-far-as-my-contractual-rights-can/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [Growing up in that fashion is a breeding ground for insecurity and doubt; it also leaves you questioning motives. It took me a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-runyon/growing-up-in-that-fashion-is-a-breeding-ground-for-insecurity-and/) [Damon Runyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-runyon/) > [A year ago, my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the supreme court had just withdrawn, and my vice president had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/a-year-ago-my-approval-rating-was-in-the-30s-my-nominee-for-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Approval is a greater motivator than disapproval, but we have to disapprove on occasion when we correct. It’s necessary. I make corrections only after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/approval-is-a-greater-motivator-than-disapproval-but-we-have-to/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [These days people are mean to people just because they don't like the way they look. No-one should be hated because of their flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/these-days-people-are-mean-to-people-just-because-they-don-t-like-the/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [My dad taught me swears when I was a toddler, and I saw, at a really early age, that if I shocked people, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/my-dad-taught-me-swears-when-i-was-a-toddler-and-i-saw-at-a-really/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/if-torture-is-going-to-be-administered-as-a-last-resort-in-the/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Comedy is a very approval-oriented field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-chappelle/comedy-is-a-very-approval-oriented-field/) [Dave Chappelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-chappelle/) > [Whenever you are too worried about someone else's approval, that person loses respect for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/whenever-you-are-too-worried-about-someone-else-s-approval-that/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) > [Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/pleasure-is-nature-s-test-her-sign-of-approval/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Do you really mean the only reason you try to be good is to gain God's approval and reward? That's not morality, that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-you-really-mean-the-only-reason-you-try-to-be-good-is-to-gain-god/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Browse all 904 Approval quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Free competition exists inside shelters of law, custom, insurance, political approval, and carefully protected status.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/free-competition-exists-inside-shelters-of-law-custom-insurance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Approval" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/free-competition-exists-inside-shelters-of-law-custom-insurance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/mason-cooley-92_approval_free-competition-exists-inside-shelters_684530.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Free competition exists inside shelters of law, custom, insurance, political approval, and carefully…” — Mason Cooley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Free competition exists inside shelters of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/free-competition-exists-inside-shelters-of-law-custom-insurance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/free-competition-exists-inside-shelters-of-law-custom-insurance/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```