I&#x27;m not against altruism.  That&#x27;s not the point I was trying to make at all.<p>But whereas altruistic solutions to problems require continual interest from the donor class (which is subject the same fads as the rest of our culture), or government coercion (which eventually gets co-opted by political considerations), market solutions are robust because people are profiting from them.  We&#x27;d all love to feed the starving people of the world, but sending ships full of free food isn&#x27;t the solution (and can actually be harmful).  It&#x27;s much much more effective to set in motion the market forces that will create a stable food supply year after year.