the free market ideal

someone said:“There are people who do not believe in the free market. Some of them cling desperately to the information asymmetry that always exist in real life free market transactions, and consider this as an evidence of the systematic inefficiency of the free market system. For them it is scientific proof that the free market does not work and government involvement is necessary. At best, this is just a hypothesis that still needs to be verified in practice. In practice, so far, the wealth and strength of America has been built on the concept of the free market.”

my thought:I am a little bit fascinated by this adulation of free market principles. I’m curious to know on what you base this faith.

In the first part of what you say that the view that constant corruption leads to inefficiency, and that government intervention is needed as a remedy, is a HYPOTHESIS that needs to be verified. Fair enough. As an scientist, I appreciate that cautious view. And I agree.

But then you say, “In practice, so far, the wealth and strength of America has been built on the concept of the free market.”

Whoah there, mister. It’s interesting that you see the failures of the American economy as NOT being prima face evidence of failures of a free market, but conversely you see the successes of the American economy AS being evidence of the success of a free market.

Does the raw asymmetry of this argument not bother you?

Faith Based Economics