Myth of a free market
By Michael Fraase
Thursday, 02 September 1999 05:13PM CST
Section: 05 Myth of a free market
It’s fashionable these days to preach the gospel of techno-libertarianism; a weird concoction of traditional libertarianism combined with a healthy dose of don’t-worry-be-happy-technology-will-find-the-answer Pollyannaism. Basically it boils down to: reduce the size of government and get whatever government is left out of the way of the free market. The market will regulate itself naturally, and everything will be fine.
If you’re a member of the privileged classes—that’s anyone who can grab a loaf of bread off the grocery shelf without looking at the price tag—the idea of smaller government probably sounds like a wonderful idea. So does the idea of a free market. The problem is, the existing markets are anything but free. And contrary to popular belief, government is only half to blame for the state of our markets.