Comment by ahk
16 years ago
It can be beneficial to all "participants" but disastrous to society as a whole, can it not? Look at the current rage against free market instruments like CDOs and other complex unregulated derivatives.
Are you really claiming we dont need "coercion or force" from regulators like the SEC or FTC?
Are you really claiming we dont need "coercion or force" from regulators like the SEC or FTC?
It is naive to think any one human agents or regulatory agency is able to prevent those "complex unregulated derivatives" or not be corrupted by unethical firms/special interests/etc.
The free market system already have a "fail-safe" or "regulatory" function through the bankruptcy of entrepreneurs and rewarding prudent entrepreneurs with the leftover possessions of the bankrupt one. Failure is at the heart of the free market enterprise system. It is a feature, not a bug.
It is those who wishes to prevent these failures at all and any costs that keep our society stagnated or hurling down to its destruction as they keep funding economic activities that is out of reality with human needs and desire.
Wow... taking @dantheman's statements a bit too literally maybe? There are very, very few free market proponents who would be in favor a pure free market. Just about everyone agrees that some degree of regulation is necessary (or else paying for a murder would be a proper free market transaction).