I like to search the web for articles about the free market. Articles which are written in defense of the market are fairly easy to filter out. The articles (and sites) arguing against the free market sometimes rely on sleight-of-hand. It’s really kind of boring. You would think people who hate freedom would come up with better arguments. Perhaps there aren’t any.

Today’s pick is Big Pharma: free market economics run amok. Google ranks the page 3/10 in popularity. The magic here is substituting the free market with the regulated market and then blaming the results on the free market. Here’s the quote that shows the author has no idea what a free market is.

This is the free market at work.

No. This is the regulated market at work. The U.S. has never had a free market within its borders. What does Mr. Adams think a free market is? Here’s a nice quote which should have started all the bells and whistles close to the author going off, but apparently he is deaf.

The classical theories of free market economics say that entrepreneurs will turn greed into solutions. Out of a desire to get rich, they will invent new ways to produce more goods and services. They’ll devise new manufacturing and logistical solutions that reduce costs and speed delivery to consumers. And they’ll keep costs low through competition.

Through supply and demand of finished goods or services, resources (money) will then flow to those entrepreneurs who do the best job of delivering those goods and services to consumers. Those entrepreneurs will grow their companies, discover new efficiencies of scale, and pass on even more savings to consumers who benefit handsomely.

Obviously, Mr. Adams has a firm grasp on what the free market can do. So, when faced with a malfunctioning market, does he assume that something may be stopping the market from remaining free? No. He assumes free market economics are wrong. A classic trap that many regulated market advocates fall into.

It’s not enough to say that Big Business and Big Government are in bed together… they are, in fact, nearly indistinguishable.

That’s a regulated market, Mr. Adams, not a free market. Free market economics is still sound. It is regulated markets which have failed here. Just as they will always fail. Repeatedly.

the free market rewards those companies best able to EXPLOIT consumers, not serve them.

The free market awards those who have market skills. That’s all it does. Since there is a tendency for people to seek trades which benefit them, free markets will tend to be self-policing and self-regulating. As people become better traders they realize the best, most repeated trades are trades which benefit both parties.