Of course. It's the extreme of what is ultimately a scale. Unrestricted capitalism is similar: a completely free market will lead to a loss in freedoms. Slavery

Of course. It's the extreme of what is ultimately a scale. Unrestricted capitalism is similar: a completely free market will lead to a loss in freedoms. Slavery is humans as a commodity. If that isn't allowed, a market is not free. That's the most extreme case. A lesser case is what happens when there is no slavery but not enough regulation on competition: Standard Oil. The problem really is black and white thinking. The best thing for humanity is balance. Kids and less fortunate shouldn't be forced to do hard labour for either nothing or next to nothing. Smart, hard working people should be rewarded for their contributions. What about a smart, hard working kid who has a poor family? Let them shine by preventing poverty from being so crushing we lose out on a talented mind. There's nothing wrong with regulation or business or markets or rights. We shouldn't fear any of those as they are merely economic tools that can be used to benefit society as a whole. By taking one or the other to the extreme, we're faced with a dangerous case of hammer-nail.