> It is very hard to understand how people who have been alive more than a couple of decades can believe that there is a system which can objectively determine

> It is very hard to understand how people who have been alive more than a couple of decades can believe that there is a system which can objectively determine everyone’s needs and capabilities. What is the relevance of that comment? Objectively measuring "everyone’s needs and capabilities" is unnecessary in most cases (excluding a "total war" economy, or at times of famine, when it becomes very important, albeit imperfect) and a more free market economy does a very poor job for some goods (e.g. housing) Free markets work well if participants are free to come and go, and have adequate information. Then price discovery in a Free Market is quite a phenomena. But when people cannot leave a market (e.g. in a famine) or when information is distributed unevenly Free Markets lead to all sorts of terrible outcomes. Capitalism, without intervention and redistribution by the state (or some other powerful agency - there can be others) leads to concentrations of wealth and impoverishment of many. This is because the second dollar is easier than the first, and that idea scales.