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Free market is possible - the problem is that it is tool and not ideology. For it to work you need several conditions: 1. Relatively low barrier of entry 2. No

Free market is possible - the problem is that it is tool and not ideology. For it to work you need several conditions: 1. Relatively low barrier of entry 2. Non essential goods 3. Comoditization/semi comoditization of the products 4. Price, demand and supply elasticity The android phone/ tablet marked in the developing world right now is perfect example. Cheap PCs in the 80s/90s. Sadly in the developed world the business models with carrier subsidization is quite evil and hostile towards the consumers. We should really make the wireless and wired assholes dumb pipes.

brazzy 13y ago
You realize you've essentially state that a free market is not possible in health care, yes?
- eatitraw 13y ago
  He explicitly states that in another thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6040196 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6040196
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
coldtea 13y ago
>Free market is possible - the problem is that it is tool and not ideology. For it to work you need several conditions: 1. Relatively low barrier of entry 2. Non essential goods 3. Comoditization/semi comoditization of the products 4. Price, demand and supply elasticity I don't see how all those are possible. They presuposse a place where: 1) There is no government intervention. 2) Private interests play nice to each other and never take advantage of their position to skew the market. That might happen temporarily in some sub-market (e.g cheap PCs in the 80s/90s) but it absolutely cannot happen in the overall market. Even something like "patents" and "copyright" is enough to fuck this up. Not to mention the issues of raw materials, infrastructure (roads, etc), foreign dependencies, etc.
- XorNot 13y ago
  Which is why Adam Smith has a big section in "The wealth of nations" where he talks about the absolute necessity of government regulation to ensure smooth operation of the market and the necessity of building absolute divisions between business and government. Mysteriously absent from most politicians free market tirades.

brazzy 13y ago

You realize you've essentially state that a free market is not possible in health care, yes?

eatitraw 13y ago
He explicitly states that in another thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6040196 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6040196
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

coldtea 13y ago

>Free market is possible - the problem is that it is tool and not ideology. For it to work you need several conditions: 1. Relatively low barrier of entry 2. Non essential goods 3. Comoditization/semi comoditization of the products 4. Price, demand and supply elasticity I don't see how all those are possible. They presuposse a place where: 1) There is no government intervention. 2) Private interests play nice to each other and never take advantage of their position to skew the market. That might happen temporarily in some sub-market (e.g cheap PCs in the 80s/90s) but it absolutely cannot happen in the overall market. Even something like "patents" and "copyright" is enough to fuck this up. Not to mention the issues of raw materials, infrastructure (roads, etc), foreign dependencies, etc.

XorNot 13y ago
Which is why Adam Smith has a big section in "The wealth of nations" where he talks about the absolute necessity of government regulation to ensure smooth operation of the market and the necessity of building absolute divisions between business and government. Mysteriously absent from most politicians free market tirades.