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What you say makes sense, but it still misses the main point: Market mechanism fail because of conflicting interests. Your example describes a functioning marke

What you say makes sense, but it still misses the main point: Market mechanism fail because of conflicting interests. Your example describes a functioning market, the article describes only one symptom (!) of the opposite. It's true, resource allocation is very important. But is the free market more important than for example the declining life expectancy in the US? I don't think, you will find a solution besides regulation or education to my example problem. I think you have to realize, that the market incentives are causing it, that the free market should be exempt from certain basic needs, where better resource allocation (a free market) will only degrade in a race to the bottom, and will not (as you described) find a better optima for the required resources (because there might be none). I will call it market mongering. EDIT: To refine your mill example: What if the steel buyer does not do anything with the steel, except driving price up?

Phiwise_ 3y ago
>But is the free market more important than for example the declining life expectancy in the US? Perhaps the decline of the free market in the US might be exactly as important as the decline of life expectancy in the US.
LatteLazy 3y ago
>It's true, resource allocation is very important. But is the free market more important than for example the declining life expectancy in the US? The free market does not know or care. It takes the preferences of all the people and the government they elected and combines them. If people choose health they get it. If they choose the opposite they get it. That's sort of the point here. It might be surprising that people prefer being fat and watching TV to long, educated, lives. But it does seem to be their preference. I am all for trying to change that. But people were lazy and gluttonous long before Private equity (a tiny part of the wider system) ever reared it's head...
- throwawayqqq11 3y ago
  > The free market [...] takes the preferences of all the people and the government they elected and combines them. Incomplete picture. The missing part is imbalance of power of the agents. The case of the greedy manager or the price driving steel trader again... Im out now. Have nothing more to say.

Phiwise_ 3y ago

>But is the free market more important than for example the declining life expectancy in the US? Perhaps the decline of the free market in the US might be exactly as important as the decline of life expectancy in the US.

LatteLazy 3y ago

>It's true, resource allocation is very important. But is the free market more important than for example the declining life expectancy in the US? The free market does not know or care. It takes the preferences of all the people and the government they elected and combines them. If people choose health they get it. If they choose the opposite they get it. That's sort of the point here. It might be surprising that people prefer being fat and watching TV to long, educated, lives. But it does seem to be their preference. I am all for trying to change that. But people were lazy and gluttonous long before Private equity (a tiny part of the wider system) ever reared it's head...

throwawayqqq11 3y ago
> The free market [...] takes the preferences of all the people and the government they elected and combines them. Incomplete picture. The missing part is imbalance of power of the agents. The case of the greedy manager or the price driving steel trader again... Im out now. Have nothing more to say.