An Economic And Moral Case For Capitalism 

Steven Davis chats with Ross Levine about how the rule of law and competition foster prosperity and freedom in a system of market-based capitalism. They highlight the moral dimensions of the case for capitalism and its limits. They explain why the state is necessary for well-functioning markets, and how state power can undermine competition, prosperity, and freedom. They also discuss the toughest challenge facing a capitalist, or any, society – how to ensure widespread opportunity.

Recorded on August 4, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ross Levine is the Booth Derbas Family/Edward Lazear Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He co-directs Hoover’s Financial Regulation Working Group and is a founding member of the Hoover Program on the Foundations for Economic Prosperity. Levine’s research explains how financial regulations and the functioning of financial systems influence economic prosperity, including growth, stability, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, job opportunities, poverty, income distribution, and the environment. Besides authoring or editing six books, he has published nearly 200 articles in leading economics, finance, and management journals.

Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.

SOURCES

• “A Case for Market-Based Capitalism” by Ross Levine, Freedom Frequency Substack, 5 August 2026
• From the Hand of Adam Smith, a monthly letter series authored by Ross Levine in the voice of Adam Smith. The letters address enduring questions about markets, power, justice, and the institutions that sustain a free society.
• The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.
• The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism by F.A. Hayek.
• Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists by Raghuram Rajan and Luigi Zingales.