Advocates of free-market capitalism often note that this ordering of society does not seek to change imperfect human nature but rather channel it constructively. A short and honest parable about how this might look in the real world, could be illustrative:
Imagine a man born without the faintest flicker of empathy. Call him “John Dao”.
Dao feels no joy at a child’s laugh, no sadness at a widow’s tears, and no pity for another’s fall. His world is one of cold calculation. Others are merely instruments, obstacles, or resources to him. He is a psychopath: high-functioning, intelligent, and utterly self-interested.
In most societies throughout history, such a man would have sought the throne, pulpit, or presidential palace. Power through political coercion has always been the surest path for those who view humanity as raw material.
Dao, growing up sharp-eyed and ambitious in a middling democracy, initially plotted the same course, joining student politics and networking with politicos. But he soon had to confront the inconvenient reality of his own lack of charisma, his grating voice, and his severe face. He could not seduce crowds or inspire adulation. The television age and its successor, the social media age, rewarded performers.
John Dao was a strategist, not a performer.
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