First published in 1843 and retold countless times in film and on the stage, it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable old corn merchant and landlord who delights in his own misery and the misfortune of others.

For almost two centuries now, A Christmas Carol has been used, unfairly, as an indictment of the free market. Leftists delight in the delusional belief that Scrooge represents the worst and true face of 19th-century capitalism, but in reality, he and his world demonstrate the harmful effects of protectionist trade policies and the anti-capitalist nature of asceticism and misanthropy. His redemption shows the virtue of free will.

At the time of Dickens' story, people in the United Kingdom labored under the Corn Laws, which set minimum prices and imposed heavy taxes on the importation of food and grains. This policy, the harmful brainchild of "nationalist" economists like Friedrich List, fell most severely on the poor. It kept food prices artificially high and protected powerful mercantilist interests from competition.

Approached near the Exchange by two gentlemen hoping to make a business deal, Scrooge is told his price is too high. "If you want my grain," he replies, bluntly, "you will meet my price." This crass commercialism was more the product of Parliament than Ebenezer's alleged greed. Repeal of these awful laws, in 1846, came about largely from the efforts of free-trade advocates John Bright and Richard Cobden, a successful Manchester manufacturer.