- Joined
- Apr 20, 2005
- Messages
- 30,531
- Reaction score
- 14,765
- Political Leaning
- Conservative
I appreciate the distinction, although I am not a free-market capitalist, quite the contrary. Large markets are only functional within a very well-regulated legal structure, as the demise of FTX is currently demonstrating.
Capitalism, and its relationship to socialism, is not well-understood popularly. But then, there is a lot of misinformation out there about both.
What even is a "free market", really? That's another of the fuzzy concepts of conservatism that is not well-defined.
In my way of thinking, a free market need not be synonymous with a completely unregulated market.
ie & eg I think a free market for restaurants can exist alongside a health code and health inspectors.
In a free market...
People are able to refuse to participate in the market
People are able to choose among multiple vendors for similar goods
...and probably some more thingsBut those two are the essence in my mind at the moment
Healthcare will never be a free market in my way of thinking simply because we are "unable" to refuse to participate.
When refusing to participate means you suffer bodily harm, you are participating under duress.