If the market isn't the most efficient way to allocate resources, even allocating them centrally according to clear rules makes more sense than just commanding

If the market isn't the most efficient way to allocate resources, even allocating them centrally according to clear rules makes more sense than just commanding prices to stop rising, as if a price is merely an arbitrary number dreamed up by a seller instead of a description of a market reality that the economy will contort itself to move towards.