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There is no such thing as a free market. It's a myth. In the absence of government regulation, companies would withhold as much information as possible from co

There is no such thing as a free market. It's a myth. In the absence of government regulation, companies would withhold as much information as possible from consumers, preventing those consumers from making informed decisions about which products and services to consume. There would be overwhelming information asymmetry, which would lead to sub-optimal choices. Such a market would not be free, because companies would have immense power over consumers and would undoubtedly abuse it in order to maximize profits. Capitalism leads to the most efficient allocation of resources, but government regulation needs to exist in order to ensure the profit motive does not outweigh the need to treat consumers fairly.

unethical_ban 9y ago
Ah, but the government has intervened for more than 30 years to make sure everyone knows the dangers of tobacco use.
camiller 9y ago
Yes, but enlightened capitalism realizes that killing your customers is only good in the short run. In the long run it is much better if they remain living.
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  Maybe, but the problem with that is that by the time capitalism has realized that, many people have died.
dmux 9y ago
>...preventing those consumers from making informed decisions about which products and services to consume. Doesn't this provide an opportunity for another business such as Consumer Reports?
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  Consumer Reports would be useful in a limited capacity, but they could only report on products and services after the fact. They would have no access to important pieces of information such as the conditions under which the products are being produced. The meat industry is a great example of this. Battles are being fought currently between companies and the people who record their operations on video. The former obviously doesn't want consumers to find out the horrendous ways in which they treat animals. The latter have to rely on the legal system (i.e. the government) to ensure that information is available to consumers so that they can make informed decisions.

unethical_ban 9y ago

Ah, but the government has intervened for more than 30 years to make sure everyone knows the dangers of tobacco use.

camiller 9y ago

Yes, but enlightened capitalism realizes that killing your customers is only good in the short run. In the long run it is much better if they remain living.

enraged_camel 9y ago
Maybe, but the problem with that is that by the time capitalism has realized that, many people have died.

dmux 9y ago

>...preventing those consumers from making informed decisions about which products and services to consume. Doesn't this provide an opportunity for another business such as Consumer Reports?

enraged_camel 9y ago
Consumer Reports would be useful in a limited capacity, but they could only report on products and services after the fact. They would have no access to important pieces of information such as the conditions under which the products are being produced. The meat industry is a great example of this. Battles are being fought currently between companies and the people who record their operations on video. The former obviously doesn't want consumers to find out the horrendous ways in which they treat animals. The latter have to rely on the legal system (i.e. the government) to ensure that information is available to consumers so that they can make informed decisions.