The free market represents the social application of an objective theory of
values. Since values are to be discovered by man’s mind, men must be free to
discover them—to think, to study, to translate their knowledge into physical
form, to offer their products for trade, to judge them, and to choose, be it
material goods or ideas, a loaf of bread or a philosophical treatise. Since
values are established contextually, every man must judge for himself, in the
context of his own knowledge, goals, and interests. Since values are determined
by the nature of reality, it is reality that serves as men’s ultimate arbiter:
if a man’s judgment is right, the rewards are his; if it is wrong, he is his
only victim.