It is curious that statist critics of the market invariably denounce “production for [monetary] profit” as greedy and selfish, and instead uphold “production for use” as unselfish and altruistic. On the contrary, producers can only make monetary profits to the extent that they serve other consumers. Logically, altruists should deeply
admire the successful pursuit of monetary gain on the market.
- The Myth of Neutral Taxation by Murray Rothbard page 63, footnote 10
OK, technically, since money is “the most marketable commodity”, people prefer dollars to cucumbers. Therefore, it’s “altruistic”, or ascetic to suffer eating your own cucumbers instead of earning more money, and, perhaps, buying back some of your cucumbers from the grocer (along with tomatoes, since you have money left over).
But the rhetoric is devastating!