While I agree with your generally well-written reply, one point of contention I have is that of prices being set by markets. We don't live in a laissez-faire ma

While I agree with your generally well-written reply, one point of contention I have is that of prices being set by markets. We don't live in a laissez-faire market society. We live in a society with many government enforced monopolies that limit supply arbitrarily and which routinely changes rules that limit consumer rights without any real recourse due to the massive power imbalance of the wealthy versus those not wealthy. Taken as a whole our current economic system is little more than a way to protect those who already have the most protection in the system. Second thought is in relation to economics. Economics is not some hard science where there can truly be said to be any kind of actual laws discovered. Supply and demand pricing isn't even a firm reality as marketing can vastly dictate market results. We really and truly are in the infancy of understanding economics as it ties so heavily into human psychology and unpredictable events.