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The market is not an invention of capitalism. It has existed for centuries. It is an invention of civilization.
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Statement (8 June 1990), as quoted in The Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources (2004) by R. Quentin Grafton, p. 277
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Variant: The market came with the dawn of civilization and it is not an invention of capitalism. ... If it leads to improving the well-being of the people there is no contradiction with socialism.
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As quoted in The Guardian [London] (21 June 1990)

 

Mikhail Gorbachev

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