>So one bad law invalidates government? Bad laws prove that government intervention is bad and we ought to limit its power. >They can, but this goes to the "p

>So one bad law invalidates government? Bad laws prove that government intervention is bad and we ought to limit its power. >They can, but this goes to the "perfect information" theory that you blithely dismissed. I already addressed this issue. What is so special about the government that allows it to have more information than consumers? Nothing. Any information government can obtain for consumers can be obtained by consumers themselves. >but actual people running the government have seen negative consequences and, acting as our representatives, regulated against them, Actual consumers running their lives have seen negative consequences and, acting out of their own interest, decided against them. No need for a government middle man >2) The government employs people whose job it is to assess risks and plan accordingly. What do you know about mudslide prevention or sewage treatment, for instance? Consumers can also employ people whose job it is to assess risks and plan accordingly. I don't know about mudslide? I buy a booklet from a risk assessment/engineering consultant/geological consulting firm and they tell me what I need to know. Again, no need for government middleman. > A completely free market requires a willing buyer and a willing seller operating on the same set of information and meeting on a level platform. This is not true at all. A free market does not require people operating on the same set of information. It just needs lack of intervention. I can buy an apple for $2 from a seller I don't need to know how much he bought it from, from whom, when etc. There is no requirement for a symmetry of information. > I am always at a negotiating disadvantage with a large service provider or even with someone who is an expert in his field and I not. As said, a free market does not require sellers and buyers to have information parity. A seller who believes he is at a disadvantage can simply 1) choose to not enter any deal 2) obtain more information. He decides what choice is appropriate. Sellers have every incentive to educate buyers and be honest, as doing so would make it more likely that they will get a mutually beneficial deal. >It is not efficient, for example, to have multiple power lines serving a single structure. Humans are not hive-minded engineers. The point of a free market is not to maximise efficiency in provision of all services, although it does a pretty good job anyway, but to provide maximum choice and lower price for consumers. Even if there can efficiently be only one power line in town, the fact that there are multiple providers would increase the negotiating power of the consumers. > Garbage pickup, for instance. Or firefighting. A market might not be big enough for 2 players, but that doesn't mean that the government should mandate who the sole provider should be.