Capitalism has done more good for more people than rivals

The Heritage Foundation’s @Heritage account posted on X: “Capitalism has done more good for more people than any other economic arrangement ever devised by man. ” The post went up on October 23, 2026¹.

“Capitalism has done more good for more people than any other economic arrangement ever devised by man.”

The post is stamped 11:01 PM, and it links to an attached photo¹.

Heritage's sentence makes two comparisons at once: how much good capitalism has produced, and how many people have shared in it¹. Its benchmark is every other economic arrangement devised by man. The foundation's 2026 Index of Economic Freedom puts numbers behind that claim, and the Index says it has measured economic freedom country by country since 1995².

The Index says economies rated “free” or “mostly free” enjoy incomes more than twice the average of all other countries. Its Chart 1 puts average 2024 GDP per capita at $112,351 for “free” economies against $10,316 for the lowest category. It says real world GDP has expanded by around 70 percent as global economic freedom rose over more than two decades. Over the same period, it says, the global poverty rate has declined by about two-thirds².

The Index reports that average annual per capita growth rates in countries that increased economic freedom the most were at least about 25 percent higher than in countries where freedom stagnated or declined².

The Oman Observer, reporting on the Index in March 2026, said it scores 176 economies on 12 indicators grouped into four pillars: rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets³. The Index's recommended reforms are specific: more efficient business and labor regulation, lower tariffs and other trade barriers, and financial reforms that broaden access to credit².

Family Brief judges an economic system by whether it helps people marry, raise children and sustain an intact family, and working families, not corporations or aggregate output, are the measure. Heritage has made its case for capitalism, and every candidate who invokes it should say whether it lets a family afford a home and children. Parents should put that question to the candidates on their ballots before the next vote.

Sources

1. @Heritage on X, 2026-10-23: Capitalism has done more good for more people than any other economic arrangement ever devised by man. https://x.com/Heritage/status/2113767741031100802/photo/1, 2026-10-23
2. 2026 Index of Economic Freedom: “As Economic Freedom Rises, the Global Economy Expands and Poverty Falls”
3. Oman jumps 19 places in economic freedom index | Oman Observer