Okidoki.

From what I can see this is an extremely aware site on economic matters, but I feel that I should point out what a free market is and what it isn't just for my own amusement..sorry I mean clarification. The quesion to ask is -

What is a free market?

And the answer is - it's an arrangement between people where any one of them can say "no" to any other persons offer to buy or sell a good or to perform a service.

It's not much more complicated than this, although this arrangement does have some profound social and cultural ramifications.

What isn't a free market?

Anything that has direct coercion involved in it.

Any way of thinking that claims the "free market" is somehow a seperate entity from people. It's not. Neither is "market value". It's just a measure of those interactions which are made voluntarily. For instance - a free market price for a house is determined by looking at what people have been voluntarily trading their houses for in the relevent time period.

Anything that has been legislated to happen.

That's about it. As always I am open to correction.

Next post will cover what happens when you have a free market and what happens when you don't!