Capitalism and Discrimination

"My old man was so full of hate that he didn't know that bein' poor was what was killin' him."
--Agent Rupert Anderson (Mississippi Burning)

Some people do not like capitalism because of the profit motive. Businesses "are only in it to make money," they say.

Many of these same people support legislation that prevents business from discriminating against people of a particular race, point of origin, sexual orientation, etc.

Can these people not see that these two positions are incompatible?

A business cannot be both "only in it to make money" and discriminatory at the same time. A business that refuses to serve people because of, say, their skin color, leaves money on the table. Such a business is clearly not driven solely by the profit motive.

In a capitalistic system a business that does discriminate loses receipts to competitors who choose not to discriminate. Discrimination is thus an expensive endeavor that weakens competitive advantage and, given enough time, is bound to put bigots out of business in unhampered markets.

Discrimination can only flourish in markets that are hampered. For example, regulations and other laws raise barriers to entry that impede entrepreneurs from competing away bigotry. As markets become more free, discrimination declines.

Capitalism, driven by the profit motive, is a bigot's nightmare.