>When people trade, they all become richer. It depends on what's being traded and who's trading. Someone buying meth is engaging in trade, but it not necessari

>When people trade, they all become richer. It depends on what's being traded and who's trading. Someone buying meth is engaging in trade, but it not necessarily ending up "richer". Generalizing that the "market is good" is as much of a mistake as generalizing that "the market is bad". There are lots of ways markets can be gamed and corrupted that, in the end, make the market difficult to distinguish from corrupt/incompetent central planning. Water is essential to life. If a country's politicians get bribed and broker the sale of a country's water in exchange for some currency they can potentially exchange the long-term health of the country they are stewarding for personal gain.