> they are signals, distinct packets of information That's an idealized assumption. Real world economics is full of deceptive signalling and false information.

> they are signals, distinct packets of information That's an idealized assumption. Real world economics is full of deceptive signalling and false information. I'm not sure binary free markets or not is the right framing anyway. Competition is, but sometimes competition means intervention. Also who's to say what a market is? Isn't a regulation part of a market, but where you include votes as a form of currency?