The vast majority of advances in the progress of mankind have come as a result of the reduction of barriers to economic competition and cooperation between individuals. The freedom of individuals to spend and invest their money as they see fit has resulted in the millions of iterative improvements that have led to our current quality of life.

It is the capacity of the individual human mind, to foresee and overcome challenges to the production and consumption of human needs and wants, by responding to the profit motive and price signals, that has raised Billions of people out of poverty in the past few decades. Entrepreneurs, even if they are purely interested in making money, have created employment opportunities for hundreds of millions in the developing world while providing cheaper goods and services across the globe.

Fundamentally, those on our left view this as a failure of Capitalism. They are unable to separate intentions from outcomes. Almost 250 years since Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations many are still unable to glean its key lesson: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, or the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest.

There is no aid program in the history of the world that is as successful as the free exchange of goods and services across the globe, no development project has lifted more people out of poverty than a low and simple tax system and no amount of good intentions has reduced food-security issues as the enforcement of a lean regulatory system.

University can be an excellent intellectual experience. You will be exposed to new ideas and have longstanding beliefs challenged. You should take advantage of that in any way you can. The left has and always will be aggressive on campus, if you choose to get involved in campus activism you will learn that first hand. They’ve moved the goal posts in recent years, they’ll want to engage in debates on heated and divisive social issues. You should remember that these are almost always a distraction. If we genuinely care about making peoples’ lives better then we must remember that the real fight is about economic freedom.