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> "free market" never meant an un-fettered market free of government influence and control. What could it even mean then? You could maybe make a case that peo

• greedo 5y ago
  Free market originated as a term with Adam Smith in regards to free of rents and privileges. "For classical economists such as Adam Smith, the term free market does not necessarily refer to a market free from government interference, but rather free from all forms of economic privilege, monopolies and artificial scarcities.[1] This implies that economic rents, i.e. profits generated from a lack of perfect competition, must be reduced or eliminated as much as possible through free competition." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market Naturally, the term has taken on differing meanings, some useful, some not. The idea itself, of a market free from government influence and control is a pipe dream that has never, and will never exist. To you it means trade without coercion. To others it means less taxes (a type of coercion). To yet others it means no regulations (yet another type of coercion). This just doesn't exist in any economy. Taxes, regulation, permits, all are a form of economic coercion. It's just used as a cudgel by those who stand to gain or lose the most with a particular regulation or tax policy.