Early on in one of my harder math courses at the university, the professor stood up in front of the room, writing on a chalkboard. He proved that all possible problems of the class we were studying had a solution. He was quick to point out though, that no one was guaranteeing that you could find it. I spent the rest of that semester increasingly frantic as I couldn’t find those solutions.

All too often, when presented with a problem, conservatives will wave our hands and say “the market will provide a solution.” The certainty of our inevitable triumph absolves us of any need to bother with anything in the meantime. And make no mistake; I believe in the inevitable triumph of market forces as much as anyone. But we should spend a little time thinking about what all that implies.